According to reports, Michael Morales has been ruled out as Islam Makhachev’s next title challenger as talks continue.
Islam Makhachev is still preparing to make the first defense of his welterweight title after winning it last November against Jack Della Maddalena.
The Russian began to hint that he will compete on International Fight Week but his hints were shut down by Dana White who said he is being targeted for August instead.
Welterweight contender Michael Morales then hinted that he had a successful meeting with Hunter Campbell to fight Makhachev next, but reports have now shut down that claim.
Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry being discussed for UFC 330
At one point, it seemed as though a fight between Makhachev and Ilia Topuria came extremely close to coming to fruition on the UFC White House card, but the UFC claimed Makhachev was unavailable due to injury.
With that, there are only two welterweight contenders that make sense and they are the aforementioned Morales and Ian Machado Garry.
And despite rumors having surfaced that Morales would fight Makhachev next, reports from Alvaro Colmenero have suggested that the undefeated Ecuadorian has been ruled out.
Although the Russian champion was hopeful of fighting at UFC 329, his potential fight against the Irishman is being targeted for UFC 330 in August.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The promotion is scheduled to return to Philadelphia for the first time in seven years for UFC 330 with the welterweight title fight being targeted for the main event.
Earlier this week, Machado Garry went in on the 34-year-old for ducking a fight against him, but Makhachev replied by stating that he is waiting for a contract to be sent.
After suffering his first professional loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov in 2024, Machado Garry bounced back with two impressive wins over Belal Muhammad and Carlos Prates, earning his spot at number two in the rankings.
2026-04-25 21:00:00
