Islam Makhachev names the 3 lightweights on his hitlist after dominant UFC Vegas 31 win over Thiago Moises

After beating Thiago Moises at UFC Vegas 31, Islam Makhachev announced himself on the biggest stage. With former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, it looks like nothing can go wrong for the Dagestani fighter.

His win over Moises was an incredible four-round domination which culminated in him finishing the fight via submission. However, it was his post-fight interview that caught a lot of attention from the MMA world. After initially calling out former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, Makhachev mentioned two more lightweights that he wants to fight.

Brett Okamoto has revealed that Makhachev is targeting a fight against Michael Chandler. In a tweet uploaded to Okamoto's Twitter account, he also revealed that Tony Ferguson was another name that interests Islam Makhachev.

Islam Makhachev (@MAKHACHEVMMA) tells me he his ideal next fight would be Michael Chandler. Interested in Rafael dos Anjos and Tony Ferguson, as well. He also says he thinks Dustin Poirier will be the champion, when he gets his shot at a UFC title.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 18, 2021

All three are incredibly hard opponents for the 29-year-old Russian fighter. Makhachev will undoubtedly see his ranking rise from its current number nine position in the official UFC lightweight rankings.

Makhachev is not too far away from the lightweight title and also said that he believes Dustin Poirier will beat Charles Oliveira in their match for lightweight gold.

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Islam Makhachev and his incredible eight-fight win streak

This win marked an incredible achievement for Makhachev as he improved his winning streak to eight. While people have criticized him for fighting weaker opponents, he has always retorted by saying that people ranked above him don't want to fight him.

This time around, Islam Makhachev had a good opponent in front of him in Moises, but he made the fight look like a foregone conclusion. It was a similar image to his last few fights as he has dominated opponent after opponent in this amazing run.

If Islam Makhachev does get to fight either Chandler, Ferguson, or dos Anjos, he will undoubtedly cement his place in the top five with a win. His stock is shooting high in the UFC lightweight division, and his fans would love to see him win a belt for Dagestan.

Islam Makhachev (Khabib’s protege) is TERRIFYING in the octagon @SpinninBackfist pic.twitter.com/BNUxeOgyKr

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 18, 2021