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UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev believes the UFC 296 headliners are no match for him.
This weekend's pay-per-view ended with Leon Edwards registering his second title defense with a convincing unanimous decision win over Colby Covington.
However, what surprised fight fans was Covington's performance. As someone who is known for his superior cardio, relentless pressure, and dominant ground game, he was unable to employ any of those tools effectively.
'Chaos' used a measured approach this time around, which seemingly didn't do him any good. Furthermore, he was also taken down by Edwards during the fight and was put in numerous compromising situations.
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Even so, Edwards failed to finish his opponent and even gave away the final round of the fight according to all three judges' scorecards.
Suffice to say, Makhachev wasn't impressed with the welterweight superstars. In a post on X following the pay-per-view, the Dagestani wrote:
"I will finish both th[e]s[e] guy[s]."
Makhachev is currently on a dream run. In his last fight, the 32-year-old silenced his critics with a spectacular first-round knockout over featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, redeeming himself from the controversial decision win in his earlier meeting with the Australian.
The Dagestani is 25-1 in his professional MMA career and holds wins against some of the division's best, including Charles Oliveira and Dan Hooker.
Islam Makhachev wants welterweight title shot
Islam Makhachev's social media dig at Leon Edwards and Colby Covington is not another pointless trash talk. In fact, the Dagestani has welterweight aspirations.
The lightweight kingpin believes that he deserves an opportunity to fight for a second world title. During a recent interview with TNT Sports, he said:
"Yeah, I'm thinking [about a move to welterweight already] because I already gave chance to some guy from another division, and [now] I need my chance. And if UFC gives me my chance, I'll use it. I need a second belt."
Makhachev added:
"Yeah, [next stop is the winner of Edwards and Covington]. I will go to watch this fight. I will sit first row and may be someone call[s] me [out]."
Catch Islam Makhachev's comments below (9:12):
