It all started with Conor McGregor when he became the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in the UFC. Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has the same ambition with a potential move to welterweight. But the problem is that he’s got a teammate as the champion of the 170-pounders, Belal Muhammad, and Makhachev’s mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov has made his stance clear on if he wants to witness that matchup.

Makhachev is laser-focused on following in the footsteps of ‘The Eagle’. After equalling Nurmagomedov’s title defense record, we could see him fighting for a second title soon. However, the 29-0 icon has a gut feeling that he doesn’t want the Dagestani to fight Muhammad as it would be tricky to choose a side between the duo.

But given that family takes precedence for the UFC Hall of Famer, Nurmagomedov has guaranteed that he will always have Islam Makhachev’s back. However, he doesn’t see this fight taking shape. “My heart not okay… It will be hard to prepare Islam to beat Belal,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with Henry Cejudo. “Of course [he’ll support Islam], but I don’t think it’s ever gonna happen.”

Besides Nurmagomedov’s refusal to see Makhachev and Belal Muhammad fight, the two reigning champions have also made their stance clear about a potential showdown. Well, they don’t want to butt heads either. In fact, Muhammad had spilled the beans on this situation, so let’s see what he had to say about these rumors.

Belal Muhammad clears his stance on fighting fellow Team Khabib member

Loyalty is the most important thing in Team Khabib, and that showed when Belal Muhammad cleared the air by asserting that he’s never going to fight Islam Makhachev. Instead, the welterweight champion has full faith in the lightweight champion to move two weight classes up and fight Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight championship.

“I would never fight [Islam], 100 percent. But honestly, he could go up to 185 and beat [Dricus] du Plessis right now,” Muhammad said in June earlier this year. Furthermore, ‘Remember the Name’ asked for some time from Makhachev to make his mark in the 185-pound division as the champion. After that, he can come in and clinch the title for himself.

“Skip over 170 for a little bit. Let me beat a couple of these younger guys and then I’ll go up to 185. He has plenty of time, man,” Muhammad added. Well, Makhachev, just like the first Palestinian UFC champion, has a lot of work to do in the respective divisions, and we’ll get a better picture of the state of things in the welterweight division in the months to come.

What do you have to say about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s statement about Islam Makhachev fighting Belal Muhammad? Let us know in the comments down below.