Better late than never for Islam Makhachev.
The UFC lightweight champion was hoping to get back into the octagon by March — ahead of his month-long observance of Ramadan — but instead will settle for a June 1 date at Prudential Center against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event.
In the eyes of the champ, the sooner Makhachev can knock off Poirier and waiting-in-the-wings Arman Tsarukyan, the sooner he can chase another prize he covets.
“My dream fight: I have to fight for the next division: 170 [pounds],” Makhachev told The Post via video call Sunday. “I have to fight with Leon Edwards.”
The way Makhachev (25-1, 16 finishes) sees it, he has given chances for the featherweight champion to go up in weight and vie for his 155-pound championship on two occasions — both last year, against Alexander Volkanovski — with each ending victoriously for the native of Dagestan, Russia.
Thus, clearing the current queue of challengers should permit Makhachev “my chance for the second belt.”
Makhachev hasn’t necessarily thought about what might happen next if all of his plans come to fruition — beating Poirier in Newark, N.J., moving to 2-0 lifetime against Tsarukyan later this year and taking the welterweight belt off Edwards’ waist early next year.
Whether he intends to actively defend both, he isn’t sure.
“We will see. I don’t know,” Makhachev says with a laugh. “It’s a good question. Maybe we will take two belts and defend because, [at] 170 [pounds], I don’t have to cut much [weight].”
None of this is possible unless Makhachev turns away Poirier (30-8, 23 finishes), a longtime staple at the top of the lightweight division who has yet to claim the undisputed crown; an interim title was as close as he got before losing a title unification to Khabib Nurmagomedov, a lifelong friend of Makhachev whom the champ calls his “brother.”
And Makhachev is by no means taking lightly the task of facing Poirier, whom he referred to as “a legend.”
“I think best boxing in the sport in my division, Dustin has, honestly,” said Makhachev, who has earned $50,000 bonuses for each of his last three victories in championship fights, “because he beat everybody in the striking. Nobody can beat him but for the fighters who have good wrestling and good grappling.”
As it happens, Makhachev has those skills in spades.
The champ is a constant submission threat once his tenacious takedowns have brought the fight to the mat, as he’s won five fights in the UFC by tapout and 11 via sub overall — including a victory via arm-triangle choke when he stopped all-time UFC submissions leader Charles Oliveira to win the belt in October 2022.
While Poirier isn’t shy about attacking submissions either — his dogged pursuit of his first career victory by guillotine choke became a bit of a running joke when he came up empty on several attempts in his March victory over Benoit Saint-Denis — the mat is where Makhachev clearly wouldn’t mind the fight going when the two meet in seven weeks.
“He has [an 0-3 record when he] fights for the belt,” said Makhachev of Poirier’s two setbacks trying to claim the lightweight crown and loss last year in a BMF title fight against Justin Gaethje. “He lost to Khabib, who has good wrestling and grappling. He lost with Charles Oliveira. That’s why, my opinion, my style is bad for him.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Makhachev has proved in recent outings to be dangerous on the feet as well. After tagging Volkanovski, who has since lost his featherweight title, multiple times en route to a unanimous decision victory in their first meeting last February, he put an exclamation point on their series with a nasty head kick that rocked Volkanovski before finishing the job with punches for a first-round KO.
It was the type of performance that started the “unbeatable” whispers as it relates to Makhachev.
“And actually, Dustin don’t like head kick,” Makhachev prods playfully. “That’s why, maybe, it’s landing again.”