There’s no doubt that Khabib Nurmagomedov left fans wanting more since he retired a bit too early, but he had legitimate reasons for it. Thereafter, Islam Makhachev entered the fray, and he’s been running the lightweight division ever since he became the champion in 2022. However, all good things come to an end, and so will Makhachev’s career one day, but Khabib’s protege has one important goal in mind before he hangs up his fighting gloves.

Makhachev has always been talking about his dream to fight for another belt. This was one thing that his mentor could never do, given that he retired early. However, the 155lbs god-king isn’t too sure about the timeline of that fight, which he believes is for the UFC to decide. Moreover, Makhachev claims that he’ll only consider retiring from the sport after he sees himself holding two championships like some of his UFC predecessors.

“I don’t know [when he’ll get a fight for a second belt], you know. It’s not my job, but it’s my goal,” Islam Makhachev told ‘TNT Sports’. “I’m not gonna leave this sport without second belt.”

As we all know, the current scenario is a bit tricky for Makhachev, given that the champion of the next immediate weight class (170lbs) is one of his teammates, Belal Muhammad. As such, there have been numerous questions thrown at the Dagestan native regarding a possible encounter between the two. But it has been established many times that they are not going to fight each other, and Makhachev claims to be waiting for the right time to cash in his opportunity to become a double champion because he still has time left in his career.

“He’s [Belal] my friend. We were training last week together, you know, and we have this guy, manager for both. And we’ll talk, you know. Like, anything can change like, very quick,” Islam Makhachev added. “I’m not planning to retire yet and I have time.” Well, the welterweight division may be a no-no for now, but there is a chance that Makhachev might make a double jump to enter the middleweight title picture.

Belal Muhammad claims that Islam Makhachev could fight for the 185lbs title

We have seen some fighters making drastic weight adjustments to fighting in a whole other division. For example, we have Jared Cannonier, who was once a heavyweight but later joined the middleweight division. He went two weight classes down, but Belal Muhammad claims Islam Makhachev can go and compete in two weight classes up. ‘Remember the Name’ is confident that Khabib’s protege could take the current and the former 185lbs champions down pretty easily.

“I’ve said it before. I think he could be the 185-pound champ easily. Dricus and Strickland, like, those are your two guys that are fighting for the belt,” Belal Muhammad told ‘The Schmo’. “I think Islam will take either one of them down and tap them out.” Islam Makhachev has stated recently that he normally walks around the 180-pound mark, so maybe competing as a middleweight would be a much more natural option for the lightweight champion.

Well, the chance to become a double champion isn’t what concerns Islam Makhachev now, given that he’s got a pretty big challenge in Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 next. But what do you think will be the Dagestan native’s next move? Drop your comments below.