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

#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.