Islam Makhachev has been largely offline since winning the welterweight title, but criticism keeps finding him. The Dagestani star was in consideration to headline the White House event, until an injury ruled him out of a potential Ilia Topuria fight. But one man is not buying that story.

Ian Garry, one of the leading candidates to challenge Makhachev next, has expressed skepticism about the injury news. The Irish striking maestro has been chirping at the Russian ever since his last win against Belal Muhammad. His latest round of trash talk targeted the injury claim and the champion’s inactivity.

Ian Garry calls Makhachev’s injury bluff

“Heard that too, but I don’t believe it,” said Ian Garry in an Instagram video. “I don’t know what to believe. I can’t imagine he hurt his hand in the last fight with Jack [Della Maddalena]. So, maybe he did it in horse riding? I don’t know. I don’t believe it, I think it’s excuses. Everything about me now tells me he just doesn’t want to fight.

I don’t know if it’s mentally, physically, whatever it is, but… yeah, he’s doing the typical thing that all champions do when they get the belt. They try and maintain their position, maintain relevancy by not fighting and staying inactive. When I fight, that all changes.”

For those unaware, Islam Makhachev became the UFC welterweight champion by beating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 last November. And as confirmed by Dana White, following that fight, the Dagestani is having issues with his hands. According to the reports, it is a resurfaced injury that first impacted Makhachev after the UFC 302 fight against Dustin Poirier.

Contenders like Garry are seemingly displeased with not having a clear picture of the title. This instance is very similar to Jon Jones’s heavyweight reign. Like Makhachev, Jones had a pectoral tear, for which he made his first title defense after almost a year.

However, amid that, Makhachev did show interest in a fight against Ilia Topuria. They are arguably the two biggest active fighters on the UFC roster. Topuria in particular has long wished to face Makhachev. To that end, he even chased the Dagestani to the lightweight division. But Makhachev moved to the 170-pound category.

Amid this cat-and-mouse game, the UFC welterweight champion did show interest in fighting ‘El Matador’ on the White House card. Despite that, Makhachev didn’t get booked for the historic event on June 14, while Topuria will fight Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification bout. That said, if not against the Spaniard, who is Makhachev fighting on his return?

Islam Makhachev vs Michael Morales is reportedly in the works

Amid the accusations of stalling the division and avoiding tough matchups, Islam Makhachev‘s first title defense has been leaked. And it has come from an associate of the UFC.

“I have some news for you, some news right now that I’m getting on the UFC topic quickly,” UFC Espanol’s Jacque Enriquez said during an interview. “Michael Morales, July 11, here in Las Vegas for the title.”

Now this comes after a tease from Michael Morales that he’s signed a contract to fight Makhachev. Surely, an interesting matchup. Morales is #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings and boasts an unblemished record of 7-0 in the leading MMA promotion.

But then again, these are just reports, and the official decision is yet to come from UFC’s side. On that note, do you think Makhachev fights Morales next? If so, who wins the bout? Let us know in the comments below!