Islam Makhachev’s decision to turn down a potential January fight against Carlos Prates has drawn criticism over the champion’s activity in the welterweight division.
Brendan Schaub questioned why Makhachev would pass on a January 30 matchup in Toronto after the fight was reportedly close to finalized. Schaub claimed Ramadan was the reason Makhachev decided against competing and argued that the champion fights too infrequently.
Schaub said Makhachev cannot keep the division waiting while fighting roughly once a year. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, he said:
“This is why he’s not your f*cking GOAT. This is why. I know for a fact, kids, ladies and gentlemen, I know for a fact it was pretty much cemented, signed, done deal. Islam was supposed to fight Carlos Prates in Toronto, January 30th. I’m telling you… Everyone was on board. And then all of a sudden, Islam goes, ‘Nope. Ramadan. I’m not gonna fight him.’ Now, you know, Dana is pretty… He bends the knees. He bends the knees… He’ll bend the knee. Okay, it’s all good. You fight once a year, blah, blah, blah. But finally, he’s had enough. He goes, ‘Wait, hold on. Now you’re backing out. Now you’re telling us three months isn’t enough time to get ready for Carlos Prates, buddy.”
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He added:
“It’s not enough. It’s not good. It delays the division. We can’t move on. It’s tough to create other stars. This is a huge issue. It’s the elephant in the room. It just is what it is. It is what it is. It’s not good.”
Check out Brendan Schaub’s comments below:
Ariel Helwani questions Islam Makhachev and UFC over interim title fight decision
Ariel Helwani believes the UFC moved too quickly by booking an interim welterweight title fight between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. Islam Makhachev was expected to face Prates at UFC 336 but opted for a longer layoff and is expected to return after Ramadan.
Helwani has no issue with Makhachev taking time away from competition, but questioned the change after the champion had previously expressed interest in fighting in December or January:
“I’m happy there’s an interim title because they’re getting the perks. That’s just because I’m a lover of the fighters and I want them to get paid more. It is annoying that it’s not Carlos Prates vs. Islam Makhachev because that’s the fight that they wanted to make… [Makhachev] told us that he wanted to fight in either December or January. And now he’s trying to say, ‘I don’t want to fight Carlos Prates because he lost to Ian Garry two years ago.’ None of it makes sense.”
Edited by Abhishek Nambiar
