"We’ll go to war" - Islam Makhachev appears to call for a fight with Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje or Islam Makhachev? There is an ongoing debate among the MMA community about who deserves to be the next UFC lightweight title challenger.

Gaethje's claim is based upon his No.2 ranking, while the argument for Makhachev is backed by his nine-fight winning streak. The Dagestani proposed a simple solution to end the discussion once and for all. Makhachev took to Twitter to write:

"So we’ll go to war"

However, Gaethje has other things in mind about what Makhachev needs to do to deserve a title shot. In a recent interview with UFC Unfiltered, Gaethje said Makhachev should fight the often-overlooked Beneil Dariush, who sits at No.3 in the rankings. According to Gaethje:

"Makhachev fought No.14, went to No.5 and fought a late replacement in Dan Hooker. It wasn’t Dan Hooker on a full camp. It does not count as much, but still, it’s two top 15 guys, none in the top five, only one in the top 10. That’s not how this s*** works. Do your f***ing job, fight these guys, and Beneil Dariush is right here. And I like the dude, he’s my friend so you know I’m just going to jump over this man and expect to get a title shot when the No.3 guy is Beneil Dariush. Handle that. That has to be handled."

In the eyes of many, Gaethje deserves another crack at the title after putting on a Fight of the Year contender against Michael Chandler at UFC 268. However, Makhachev's teammates Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier have been campaigning hard for Makhachev's case as the top contender.

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Comparing resumes: Justin Gaethje vs. Islam Makhachev

On paper, Islam Makhachev has a flashier resume than Justin Gaethje just because he hasn't been beaten since 2015. However, Gaethje's wins are arguably more remarkable as they all came against ranked fighters.

Justin Gaethje's last nine fights have featured Michael Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, Donald Cerrone, Edson Barboza, James Vick, Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Michael Chandler – all of whom were in the top ten. Additionally, Gaethje's only three losses came against individuals who have held titles.

The last nine fights of Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev:

Meanwhile, the only ranked opponents Islam Makhachev has faced during the course of his win streak are Thigao Moises and Dan Hooker.