Justin Gaethje issues thrilling head kick challenge to Islam Makhachev, discredits Charles Oliveira's title bid

Justin Gaethje recently took to social media to issue a call out to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and took a shot at Charles Oliveira in the process.

While Makhachev is expected to defend the 155-pound championship against Oliveira next, their bout has yet to be officially booked. Over the past year, the Dagestani grappling phenom beat featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski twice, first via a hard-fought unanimous decision at UFC 284 in February and then a first-round knockout at UFC 294 in October.

While Islam Makhachev was initially booked for his highly anticipated rematch against 'Do Bronx' at UFC 294, the Brazilian was forced to pull out due to injury before subsequently getting replaced by Volkanovski on short notice. Given that Oliveira missed his chance to redeem his previous second-round submission loss against Makhachev at UFC 280, the promotion was keen to grant him the opportunity.

However, Justin Gaethje isn't on board with the idea. The 'BMF' champion recently called out Makhachev and dismissed Oliveira as the next title contender. Taking to X, Gaethje reacted to a clip of his incredible second-round head kick KO against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 and wrote:

"Waiting on the call. Ready when you are @ufc, @danawhite. Let’s see who can kick the other's head off first @MAKHACHEVMMA. 'Do Bronx' had his shot and didn’t show up for the rematch. It is what it is."

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Bo Nickal on a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Leon Edwards super fight

UFC middleweight contender Bo Nickal recently shared his thoughts on a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Leon Edwards fight. The 27-year-old Colorado native believes the UFC welterweight champion would beat Makhachev despite the Dagestani fighter's impeccable Sambo pedigree.

Over the past few weeks, the two champions have fired shots at each other on social media, and Makhachev has expressed a keen interest in moving up to 170 pounds to challenge 'Rocky' for the welterweight title. However, Nickal believes that Edwards' bigger size would pose a huge problem for Makhachev.

In a recent YouTube video, Nickal speculated that while Khamzat Chimaev would out-grapple Edwards if they fought, 'Rocky' could dominate Islam Makhachev with his stature. He said:

"I feel like Khamzat comes down, he would probably beat him up. But Islam coming up, even though he’s a big 55’er, Leon’s big. Leon can freaking strike. Colby was able to hold him down a good amount, so who knows?... And Islam, he’s not a 100 percent grappler. He tries to strike a lot with all the guys he’s fought pretty much.”

Catch Bo Nickal's comments below (14:20):