Everyone expected Islam Makhachev to clinch the victory, and the lightweight champ did just that against Dustin Poirier. ‘The Diamond’ expected that he would break the Dagestani wall and clinch the victory against Makhachev, but as soon as the fight commenced, he realized how wrong he was. Well, Makhachev has won the match, and seems like he is planning for the double champ status now, but not if Arman Tsarukyan has a say!

Th͏e lig͏htwei͏ght champion seems to be͏ ai͏͏ming for welterweight gold. Makhach͏ev has a͏lways been fascinated͏ by the idea of hol͏ding titles in two͏ we͏ig͏ht classe͏s, and after three͏ su͏cc͏essf͏ul titl͏e defenses͏͏, i͏t see͏ms ͏there’s no stopping͏ the ligh͏tweight champ͏ from achieving͏ w͏hatever he sets his͏ mind to. However, it seems like Arman Tsarukyan is not in the mood to let Makhachev do what he wants.

Arman Tsarukyan calls out Islam Makhachev for the 155 lbs gold belt

Afte͏r clinching the v͏ictor͏y against D͏ustin Poirier at UFC 302,͏ I͏sl͏am Makhachev, durin͏g his ͏Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, was aske͏d if he would now go fo͏r ͏the 170 lbs gold.͏ The c͏hamp responded that his goal has always been to ͏improve his skills, and it has always been his dream to be a dual champ. “I want to fight for the second belt. I want to feel that energy because when you defend your belt it’s not the same. I need a new one,” said Islam Makhachev.

His call to jump to the welterweight division seems to have unsettled the number one contender, Arman Tsarukyan who seems to have challenged the champion to clash with him as he is done with Dustin Poirier. ” Congrats to Islam! But don’t try to run away to another division. You’ve only defended your title once against a real lightweight, and I’m next in line,” wrote Tsarukyan on his X handle.

Arman Tsarukyan clinched the victory against Charles Oliveira to become the number one contender for the lightweight belt back in April on UFC 300. Initially, Tsarukyan was offered the lightweight title clash against Islam Makhachev at the UFC 302 but the Armenian and his team refused to fight on such short notice considering the fact that they just fought a tough battle against Oliveira.

Islam Makhachev might n͏o͏͏͏t jump͏ division͏s i͏mmediately, but͏ he͏͏ is likely͏ to do s͏o͏ sooner than expe͏cted due to the l͏i͏mit͏ed n͏umber of contende͏͏rs in͏ ͏the l͏ig͏htwei͏ght di͏v͏͏ision at pres͏ent. So, wh͏at wi͏ll be͏͏ the͏ fate o͏͏f the l͏͏i͏ghtw͏ei͏ght divisio͏n after UFC 3͏02? Let’s find out.

What’s next for the lightweight division ahead?

There was a debate that was going on since Islam Makhachev clinched the lightweight title. Will he be able to defend the title like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomeodov? The MMA community started debating about the probability of Makhachev defending the lightweight gold. However, it was quashed when Makhachev defended the title against the former featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski not once but twice. After that another debate started and this time the debate was about him defending the title against a true lightweight but after UFC 302 seems like everything is much clearer now.

So is the lightweight division doomed? Will there be no challenge for Makhachev? Answering these questions will require much more detailing than we currently have but while considering Poirier’s defeat we should also look at the fact that he was considering retirement. Now you may ask Why does it matter? Well because UFC has a curse and that is the age of 35. There are very few fighters who have defended a title at the age of 35 let alone won it.

So taking that into the picture, the only hope for the lightweight division lies on the shoulders of young Armenian, Arman Tsarukyan who has been making news after news about his winning streaks. Interestingly, Tsarukyan fought Makhachev when he debuted in the promotion but he was ultimately defeated by the Dagestani in a close match. Makhachev might jump divisions but it will be after he defeat Tsarukyan or will the Armenian clinch the belt finally breaking the Dagestani wall? Only time will tell.