Despite recent reports claiming that Islam Makhachev would headline UFC 297 in January, the reigning UFC lightweight world champion is not expected to return to the Octagon until March at the earliest.
Following his first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 last month, fight fans were hoping to see Islam Makhachev make a quick turnaround to defend his title against his originally scheduled opponent, Charles Oliviera, or current BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje. Unfortunately, that no longer appears to be the case.
After rumors surfaced that the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ would defend his title against ‘Do Bronx’ at the promotion’s first pay-per-view of 2024, Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed that his fighter won’t be ready to defend until March.