With Khabib Nurmagomedov now officially officially retired (they even pulled him from the rankings), the UFC’s lightweight division is finally moving forward. That’s good news for Nurmagomedov’s own hand-picked successor, Islam Makhachev, who ostensibly should have a clearer path to the title. However, in practice, that might not be the case.
Following his win over Drew Dober earlier this month, Makhachev called for a fight with longtime Nurmagomedov rival Tony Ferguson, but Ferguson instead was scheduled to face Beneil Dariush. With that fight off the table, Makhachev has now turned his attention to a man he was previously scheduled to face, former champion Rafael dos Anjos, but now RDA seems to have cooled on the idea, telling Makhachev he’d accept a fight with him if after he won he got a rematch with Khabib.