UFC 311 was almost a non-event for Islam Makhachev. The lightweight champion made short work of late-notice replacement Renato Moicano in the main event, and sure enough, the Dagestani had a chilling message for Arman Tsarukyan afterward.
Makhachev was originally slated to take on Tsarukyan at the pay-per-view. Unfortunately for 'Ahalkalaets', a back injury sustained during the champ forced him out of the event.
Earlier tonight in the headlining bout of the pay-per-view, the lightweight kingpin barely broke a sweat as he submitted Moicano via darce choke in the opening round. Shortly after, Makhachev made it evident that still had his sights on Tsarukyan.
During a backstage media interaction following the win, he issued a not-so-subtle callout to 'Ahalkalakets', saying:
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"Long camp. I prefer anyone. This camp we trained so hard and some one was lucky because he wasn't here."
Check out Islam Makhachev's sly callout to Arman Tsarukyan below:
Sure enough fight fans picked up on the call-out, leading them to flood social media giving their two cents on the pound-for-pound king's comments.
@AmakaMma wrote:
"Ooooh, that's a spicy comment! The tension is building."
@TylerrBangham lamented:
"Arman x Islam about to be the new Tony [Ferguson] x Khabib [Nurmagomedov]."
@MaliTribbiani chimed in:
"Sassy Islam is the best Islam."
Check out a few more reactions to Islam Makhachev's comment below:
After UFC 311, Makhachev now has four lightweight title defenses under him, making him the only one to achieve the feat in the promotion's storied history. Furthermore, the 33-year-old has also tied with Kamaru Usman for the second-longest win streak in the organization.
Elsewhere on pay-per-view, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili used his tremendous pressure to overwhelm Umar Nurmagomedov, en route to a unanimous decision win.
In the light-heavyweight matchup on the main card, former champion Jiri Prochazka TKOd Jamahal Hill in the final round of their three-round clash.