UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will not feature on the upcoming historic UFC 300 card due to an injury, according to president Dana White.
White revealed the news in his announcement video for the title eliminator matchup between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan.
However, a recent Instagram story posted by Makhachev's teammate Ramazan Akaev showed the champion doing a muscle-up with ease. The story led fans to believe that White's claims were untrue.
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They weighed in on the situation and speculated about Makhachev's refusal to fight in the month of Ramadan.
"It’s a steroid cycle, no one going to Dagestan to test his hot piss till after Ramadan"
"Dana lied. Simple as that like he lied about gsp, Diaz, cyborg & so on. I’m sure Dana wanted him to fight on 300 right after Ramadan & he said no. So he is getting the cold shoulder."
Fans also offered up alternate theories.
"They defo came to a mutual agreement for a fight date and need an excuse as to why the PFP #1 guy is staying out for the first 2 quarters of the year"
"Let’s be honest, Islam can say he wants to fight once a month doesn’t mean ufc allows it, Dana came to him and said you’ll fight October and that’s it we making a excuse you’re injured (probably)"
"Dana has to be paying him MILLIONS to sit out"
Check out fans' comments in the screenshots below:
Ali Abdelaziz claims Islam Makhachev is prepared to step up and replace Sean O'Malley as UFC 299 headliner
Islam Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently spoke to ESPN MMA and explained that his client refused to fight in February because it was too soon after his last fight.
Abdelaziz made no mention of the champion being injured, rather stating that he is always training and in a state of readiness to step in as a main event replacement. He claimed that if bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley withdraws from the UFC 299 main event in March, Makhachev would be open to headlining the card.
He said:
“It is what it is, you know, he’s just gonna wait for Ramadan or maybe the UFC call tomorrow, ‘O’Malley is out, we need Islam. Maybe you can fight March 9.’ Islam is always training, always in shape, he’s a professional… I never see anybody from Dagestan as more professional than Islam."
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's full comments below (6:34):