Islam Makhachev has sent a chilling response to claims that Conor McGregor will jump straight back into a title fight upon his UFC return.
Makhachev, who is currently ranked third in the lightweight division, is currently riding a 10-fight win streak, with a record of 22-1. His only loss came by way of knockout back in 2015 to Adriano Martins.
Conor McGregor, on the other hand, hasn’t fought inside the Octagon since his loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. However, more recently, there has been mounting speculation that the Notorious one may make a swift return.
Read: Michael Bisping picks the UFC lightweight Conor McGregor can defeat
Back in January, UFC president Dana White confirmed that the Irishman may be making his return as early as this summer.
With McGregor’s return seemingly imminent, speculation over who he may face has been spiralling. Michael Bisping and Joe Rogan spoke on the latter’s podcast this week about his potential next opponent.
“If there’s a person that you’d put him against, in the top five, to beat, it would be Charles Oliveira. Charles is hittable, and Conor can still f****** hit.”
Oliveira, the current lightweight champion, looks to be the best stylistic match-up for McGregor. However, many current stars don’t believe that the 33-year-old, who has lost three of his last four bouts inside the cage, is deserving of a title shot.
What have current UFC stars made of Conor McGregor’s potential title shot?
Joe Rogan labelled a Conor McGregor title shot ‘crazy’ on his podcast this week.
“When Dana said that Makhachev now has to fight Beneil Dariush before he can fight for the title, I think that sets up a Conor fight (for the title). I think that’s probably why he really did it. It’s kind of crazy.”
UFC lightweight contender and teammate of former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, has also shown his disapproval of the potential title shot.
“I think this is fake,” Makhachev said, as quoted by ESPN. “It’s for the fans, to make something interesting.
He then alleged: “It’s going to be hard for him to make 155 (pounds) because he’s drunk all day. A lot of people will smash him. He is going to fight Nate Diaz or some old people to make some money. He’s never going to be champion again.”
The possibility of McGregor jumping straight into a title shot may seem crazy. But you never know with the Notorious one. Anything is possible.
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