Dana White gets honest about Islam Makhachev potentially challenging Dricus du Plessis for middleweight gold 

UFC CEO Dana White recently gave his take on reigning lightweight king Islam Makhachev’s middleweight aspirations.

At UFC 311, Makhachev beat Renato Moicano and defended his belt for the fourth time, setting a new record at lightweight. At the post-fight conference, the Dagestani phenom revealed that he'd be willing to move to middleweight and lock horns with 185-pound champion Dricus du Plessis if the UFC offered him the fight.

While he has made it clear that he would like to move to welterweight and claim the 170-pound championship first, Makhachev's close ties with current champion Belal Muhammad make the matchup unlikely.

White doesn't see the lightweight king jumping two weight classes and competing for middleweight gold. At the recent Power Slap 11 presser, he said:

“He would move up to middleweight? Yeah, I don’t know about that. Listen, if he wants to move up to 170, we can talk. But moving up to 185 is a whole other level. I know there’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there about this. You’ll just have to watch and see how this plays out.”

Check out Dana White's comments about Islam Makhachev (17:16):

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When Dana White accepted Islam Makhachev as the No.1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter

After Islam Makhachev’s victory at UFC 311, Dana White admitted that the Dagestani is the best pound-for-pound fighter on the roster. The lightweight champion was initially scheduled to lock horns with Arman Tsarukyan; however, after the latter pulled out because of an injury, Makhachev faced Renato Moicano instead.

When White was asked at the post-fight press conference whether he believes Makhachev is the pound-for-pound best in the world, he answered:

“Yeah, I’ll give it to him. Are you happy? Is everybody happy now? Islam was willing to fight anybody, he stayed active, and he went out tonight and performed."

White added:

"I just admitted I’m giving it to Makhachev, he’s the pound-for-pound No.1."

Check out Dana White's comments below (1:32):