"I might even have to have surgery" - Islam Makhachev says a hand injury might sideline him for the rest of 2024

Islam Makhachev was able to defend his lightweight title for the third time when he defeated Dustin Poirier via fifth-round submission in the main event of UFC 302 last month.

While he suggested that he would like to return to the octagon before the end of the year, that may no longer be a possibility. The lightweight champion revealed that he has been battling a hand injury that may require surgery.

Speaking to Russian media outlet Ushatayka, Makhachev was asked about his hand injury and recovery, responding:

"After the fight, my fists hurt, a lot of things hurt. We'll take time. Everything is healing little by little, but my hand continues to bother me. An MRI recently confirmed that I have a partial ligament tear. Let's see if I can recover. If not, I might even have to have surgery."

When asked about the possibility of fighting at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, which will take place on October 26th, Makhachev responded:

"Well, it is questionable. We haven't talked about the fight yet. I am doing rehabilitation every day now and we'll see how the hand goes... I really want to perform before the end of the year. I plan to, too. So far, I haven't even thought about not performing. Well, I want to come in shape, prepared, so that nothing bothers me. Before the last fight, there were also a lot of minor injuries, everything somehow accumulated. And I want to give my body time to recover. Well, I train, I keep myself in shape. About 40 to 50 percent. Let's see what happens."

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments on his hand injury and return below:

Aside from Jon Jones - who has yet to defend the heavyweight title but is tied with Demetrious Johnson with a UFC record of 11 total title defenses - Islam Makhachev has the most title defenses of any active champion. His latest defense also tied him with B.J. Penn, Benson Henderson and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the most in lightweight history.

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Islam Makhachev uninterested in Michael Chandler bout following call-out

Michael Chandler has remained inactive for nearly two years as he has not competed since suffering a third-round submission loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November 2022. The No.6-ranked lightweight has spent much of that time waiting for a highly-anticipated bout against Conor McGregor to come to fruition.

While they appeared set to clash in the main event of UFC 303, 'The Notorious' suffered a broken toe leading the bout to be called off. 'Iron' recently suggested that he has been offered a title clash against Islam Makhachev if the clash with the former double champ falls through, and took to X to call out the lightweight champion, stating:

"Good old fashioned passionate American @MizzouWrestling beats sambo all day. @MAKHACHEVMMA"

Makhachev responded by brushing off the call-out:

"You are unreliable dude, one tweet from your master, and you’ll run away. Champ needs real opponent."

Check out Michael Chandler's tweet and Islam Makhachev's response below:

It is difficult to make the case that Chandler is deserving of a title opportunity as he is coming off of a loss and 1-3 in his last four bouts. Furthermore, the No.6-ranked lightweight has spent nearly two years inactive. It is unclear who will receive the next opportunity to challenge Makhachev, however, Arman Tsarukyan remains the most likely candidate.