Islam Makhachev has been wanting to move up to the welterweight division for quite a while now. Not too long ago, the UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, also expressed that he was open to fighting the lightweight champ, but in a higher weight class and challenging the middleweight title. Needless to say, the fight fans didn’t seem to think that the fighters would fare well enough in the higher-weight class.

Kweku Afari recently interviewed ‘Rocky’ on talkSPORT MMA. Therein, he asked the mixed martial artist whether he would accept Makhachev’s challenge. The lightweight champ had his eye on the WW belt and made sure that the world knew about it. Although Makhachev didn’t really ask for a fight with Edwards directly, the name was out there indeed. 

Makhachev previously fought Alexander Volkanovski twice and took hold of the P4P #1 position. His most recent win was against Dustin Poirier, which greatly impressed the fight fans. But Edwards believed that Porier was the first real lightweight that Makhachev ever fought. Nevertheless, with almost similar numbers of title defenses, ‘Rocky’ believed that their paths would definitely collide. After all, defeating Belal Muhammad would give Edwards a total of three successful title defenses. 

Edwards said, “Sure, sure. I feel like obviously we’ve got work to do within the division. I feel like Islam just fought the first actual lightweight. He fought Volk, but this is the first actual lightweight for within the division, you know. He’s on a three-defense streak. After I beat Belal, I’d be at my third as well. So, both on a similar paths. So I can see that happen in the future. Also, I’d like to move up and challenge for middleweight, you know.”

As soon as the conversation found its way to Instagram, the fighting community took control of the comments section. Let’s see what the fight fans had to say.

Islam Makhachev and Leon Edwards would be at a disadvantage if they moved up

Becoming a double champion in the UFC is a dream for most of the fighters. Makhachev and Edwards also dream of it. But the fans believe it’s no easy feat. Some of the fans seemed to think that Edwards could not stand against anyone in the middleweight realm. Instead, he should face off against Makhachev and prove himself. The comment read, “Leon is crazy if he thinks he can beat anyone in the middleweight. Shut up bro and fight Islam don’t be p*ssy.” Meanwhile, a comment went like, “Buddy would get smashed by any of top 5 in middle weight” One of the fans thought that middleweight was a bit too big for a fighter like ‘Rocky’. The fan wrote, “Leon going to middleweight? Isnt that too big for him?”

Another fan declared that there were still many fighters left in the WW division for Edwards to go against. Till now, he has defended his title against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. The fan wrote, “Leon has like 5 killers in the division and has only defended against usman who came back too early and Colby but wants to move up.”

But the speculations about Makhachev vs. Edwards were out, as well. One of the fans claimed that in case the Dagestani fighter defeated Edwards, he would actually be one of the strongest fighters of all time. The fan worte, “If Islam beats Leon there’s no denying that Islam is top 5 of all time.” However, some of the fans claimed that Makhachev was making a mistake trying to move up. “Islam would lose a huge advantage if he moved up,” read the comment. 

Without a doubt, the fans wanted to watch Edwards fight Makhachev. But when the welterweight champ wished to climb up the ladder, they believed it was to avoid fighting Makhachev. A comment read, “he want to avoid islam.”

What are your thoughts on the fighters’ plans for fighting for the double champ status? Let us know in the comments down below.