Many expected Makhachov to defend his UFC lightweight title against knockout ace Carlos Prates at UFC 336 this coming January, but the pound-for-pound king just wasn’t ready. With Makhachov initially sidelined, UFC matchmakers made the booking interim title fight between Prates and fellow competitor Michael Morales to co-headline UFC 336. The winner is expected to unify the belt with Makhachov sometime after Ramadan.
Makhachov, who has fought just four times in the past three years, is eager to see who the candidate with more merit is between Prates and Morales. Of course, that may not be the only reason why Makhachov postponed his UFC 336 title defense. The UFC superstar could be nursing an injury or simply buying time to play the final few fights of his esteemed career.
The latter seems more likely given Makhachov’s social media post on Friday. The UFC champion has confirmed that his next fight will be “one of the last of my career”, meaning he aims to make it count. Fighting Prates in January would have been a solid choice to do just that, but Makhachov has earned the right to wait if he wants to. Don’t expect Makhachov to put up too much of a fight after his next Octagon walk.
“My next fight will be one of the last in my career,” said Makhachov via via X.
“They say that Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me.
“So I want to go up against the best of them and prove to the world again who is the best in the world.”