5 reasons why Islam Makhachev should get a UFC lightweight title shot if he beats Bobby Green

This weekend sees Islam Makhachev headline his second UFC event, but instead of fighting Beneil Dariush as was initially planned, the Dagestani star is now facing Bobby Green.

Despite the late change in opponents, should Makhachev still be handed a shot at the UFC lightweight title if he wins this weekend?

The answer is almost certainly yes, and if Makhachev deals with Green impressively, it’ll be very hard for the UFC to turn him down.

Here are five reasons why Islam Makhachev should get a shot at the UFC lightweight title if he beats Bobby Green.

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#5: It wasn’t Islam Makhachev’s fault that Beneil Dariush had to withdraw from their fight

Beneil Dariush was forced out of his fight with Makhachev due to an unfortunate ankle injury

While there’s no disputing the fact that Bobby Green is an excellent fighter and a tricky opponent for Islam Makhachev in his own right, it’s also impossible to deny that ‘King’ isn’t as highly ranked as Beneil Dariush right now.

Despite his recent wins over Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast, Green is not currently ranked in the top ten at 155 lbs. Dariush, on the other hand, currently sits at #3 in the division thanks to his wins over the likes of Diego Ferreira and Tony Ferguson.

In fact, the 32-year-old is actually ranked one spot above Makhachev, despite the Dagestani’s lengthy and impressive win streak.

However, assuming Makhachev overcomes Green this weekend, for the UFC to deny him a title shot because he hasn’t beaten an opponent ranked above him would be ludicrous.

Simply put, it’s not Makhachev’s fault that Dariush had to withdraw from this fight with an ankle injury. Obviously it wouldn’t be fair to blame Dariush either, but the fact is that the bout was initially billed as a de facto #1 contender’s fight – and that shouldn’t change for Makhachev now he’s facing Green.

If he does overcome ‘King’ this weekend, the idea of re-booking Makhachev’s bout with Dariush would be wrong. Instead, he should be offered the next UFC lightweight title shot.

#4: Islam Makhachev is beginning to catch on as a superstar

Islam Makhachev is quickly becoming one of the UFC's biggest superstars

He isn’t quite as popular as his teammate and mentor – former UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov – just yet. However, there’s no disputing the idea that Islam Makhachev is definitely beginning to catch on as a superstar with the fans.

Sure, he’s more softly spoken than ‘The Eagle’ was during his tenure with the UFC. But in the octagon, he’s almost been more devastating – and with Khabib now retired, more and more fans are seemingly beginning to believe that Makhachev is his heir.

Not only is the Dagestani fighter beginning to garner huge reactions when he steps into the octagon, but his rising popularity is also plain to see on social media, too.

Right now, Islam Makhachev has an impressive 3.5 million followers on Instagram, which puts him ahead of both reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (2.1m) and top contender Justin Gaethje (1.6m).

In fact, even Jorge Masvidal – who is widely recognized as one of the UFC’s biggest drawing stars – only has 3m followers on the platform.

Naturally, the UFC always wants to capitalise on the popularity of its fighters in order to draw the biggest numbers on pay-per-view. With that considered, giving Makhachev a title shot would not only make sense from a sporting perspective, but also from a financial one.

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#3: Islam Makhachev makes an excellent opponent for Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje

A fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev could be one of the UFC's greatest grappling matches

Despite Islam Makhachev’s impressive winning streak, the next UFC lightweight title fight is already set. It will see champion Charles Oliveira defend against top contender Justin Gaethje, who earned his shot with an excellent win over Michael Chandler last November.

Regardless of who wins, the UFC will no doubt look to match them with an exciting challenger in their next bout. And thankfully, assuming he beats Bobby Green this weekend, Makhachev would definitely provide that challenge.

A bout between the Dagestani and Oliveira would, on paper at least, look like one of the best grappling matches in UFC history. It would pit Makhachev’s phenomenal wrestling, top control and ground-and-pound against the slick submissions and Brazilian jiu-jitsu skill of ‘Do Bronx’ – and a winner would be near impossible to call.

A fight between Makhachev and Gaethje, meanwhile, would act as a classic striker vs. grappler bout, with ‘The Highlight’ attempting to keep Makhachev from taking him down and looking to knock him out on the feet. Again, it’d be a very tricky fight to call.

Essentially, a bout between Makhachev and either Oliveira or Gaethje would make for one of the most intriguing UFC lightweight title fights in a long time. The promotion should definitely book it if the Dagestani beats Green this weekend.

#2: There are no other deserving contenders in the lightweight division

Islam Makhachev is a far more deserving title contender than the likes of Conor McGregor

Some of the UFC’s other divisions have multiple deserving contenders – or a number of fighters who haven’t quite shown that they deserve a title shot. But the fact is that at lightweight right now, there are just two fighters who stand out in terms of warranting a shot at Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje.

Those two fighters are, of course, Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, which is why the fight that was planned for them this weekend made so much sense.

Now that Dariush is on the shelf with an injury, though, it’s clear that Makhachev, assuming he beats replacement Bobby Green, is the only deserving contender out there.

Sure, he’s ranked at #4 right now, but of the fighters above him, Gaethje has a shot already booked, Dariush is on the shelf and Dustin Poirier just lost in a title bout.

Underneath him, meanwhile, Michael Chandler has already failed in an attempt to win the gold, while it’d be very hard to argue the case for either Rafael Dos Anjos or Tony Ferguson, particularly as the latter is on a losing streak.

The only other name worth mentioning is Conor McGregor – but despite his status as the UFC’s most bankable star, handing him a title shot off the back of two straight losses and a broken leg would be beyond ludicrous.

Essentially, the only fighter worthy of a title shot – if he wins this weekend – is Islam Makhachev.

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#1: Islam Makhachev is on an incredible win streak

Islam Makhachev will be on a ten fight win streak if he beats Bobby Green this weekend

Naturally, success in the octagon is never easy to find for a fighter. After all, the UFC is the world’s biggest MMA promotion, and is home to the majority of the best fighters on the planet right now.

To put together a two or three-fight winning streak would therefore be impressive enough, and in fact, some fighters have received UFC title shots off the back of such streaks. That fact only makes Islam Makhachev’s current run even more stunning.

Right now, the Dagestani lightweight is on a run of nine straight wins in the octagon, all of which have come in arguably the UFC’s most loaded weight division. More to the point, it isn’t like he’s been fighting scrubs, either.

Makhachev’s last three fights have seen him submit Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises and Drew Dober, all of whom were highly ranked coming into the bouts, and he also has a clear-cut victory over the division’s most underrated fighter in Arman Tsarukyan.

Under most circumstances, in fact, Makhachev would already have been granted a shot at the lightweight title – and it’s probably only the fact that Justin Gaethje’s win over Michael Chandler was so exciting that ‘The Highlight’ has got there ahead of him.

Therefore, if Makhachev can pick up his tenth win in a row by beating Bobby Green this weekend, no other fighter would come close to matching his streak – making it nearly impossible to deny him his shot at glory.