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Islam Makhachev has responded to Eddie Alvarez after the former UFC lightweight champion claimed Justin Gaethje deserved the next title shot in the 155-pound division.
Makhachev's good friend and training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov took to social media to say that Makhachev should fight for the belt next instead of the higher-ranked Gaethje.
Alvarez gave his opinion on the issue by comparing the CVs of 'The Highlight' and Makhachev. He concluded that he would rather have the record of Gaethje, who has fought several former champions.
Islam Makhachev, who has beaten only two ranked fighters during his nine-fight winning streak, told 'The Underground King' that no one was ready to face him and even Dan Hooker was overpaid:
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"It’s not my fault that I did not fight with ranked opponent, everybody declines to fight with me. And still, I’m #4 now.. Name a single fighter from top 10 who wants to fight me now.UFC had to overpay Hooker to take this fight. It’s slowly turning into boxing," said Makhachev.
Here is Islam Makhachev's response to Eddie Alvarez's earlier tweet:
Justin Gaethje (23-3) is ranked No.2 in the UFC lightweight division. He recently defeated Michael Chandler at UFC 268 last weekend. UFC president Dana White later said it would make sense for Gaethje to receive the next lightweight title shot.
Meanwhile, Makhachev (21-1) submitted Hooker at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. The Dagestani native is yet to face a single top-five contender in the 155-pound weight class.
Eddie Alvarez last fought Dustin Poirier in the UFC in July 2018
Eddie Alvarez (30-8) has won lightweight championships in both the UFC and Bellator. He is currently signed with ONE Championship.
Alvarez last featured inside the UFC octagon against the No.1 lightweight contender Dustin Poirier back in July 2018. He suffered a second-round TKO loss to 'The Diamond' in a rematch.
The 37-year-old American star holds a 1-2-1 record at ONE and lost his most recent outing with the promotion against Ok Rae Yoon via unanimous decision in April this year.
