A couple of weeks ago, Dana White reshuffled the lightweight division with the surprise announcement of UFC 324’s main event. On January 24, Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett will clash in the main event for the interim 155 lbs belt, and the winner is guaranteed a shot at the champ Ilia Topuria. However, even though the fight looks like a banger, the UFC CEO is getting grilled by fans for snubbing the No. 1-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan, of his rightful shot at the lightweight title. Now, even the former king of the division, Islam Makhachev, couldn’t hold back his honest opinion of White’s mistake in matching Gaethje and Paddy for the interim shot.

“The organization may not like it, but they make more and more fights that I don’t understand. Of course, Arman should’ve got the title shot. Let’s be honest, Arman is not going to fight anytime soon. It’s Pimblett vs Gaethje; whoever wins gets a shot at Topuria, meaning one more year off for Arman. It’s tough,” Makhachev told Red Corner MMA. 

Arman Tsarukyan’s shot at lightweight gold looked pretty much cemented after he defeated Dan Hooker in the UFC Fight Night Qatar main event with an arm-triangle choke. He even called out Ilia Topuria for a quick turnaround in January. But Dana White’s matchmaking with Pimblett vs Gaethje showed that he’s not even thinking about ‘Akhalkalakets’.

Well, the UFC CEO went so far that at the UFC 323 post-fight presser, he made it clear that the Armenian needs to work his way up to get the fight, showing no remorse for his #1 lightweight ranking. It’s to be noted that Islam Makhachev didn’t address everything White said about his former adversary, who missed the chance to fight him at UFC 311. But the Dagestani champ had one piece of advice for Tsarukyan: stay patient.

“Although I had the same period in my career. I had ten fights before getting the title shot. I mean, 10-fight winning streak. So, Arman should wait and be patient,” the welterweight champion added. 

Well, Makhachev stays pretty clear about the type of matchmaking he wants to see in his former division. But that’s not all. The current welterweight champion also sets his sights on a specific opponent for his first 170 lbs title defense, and now he promises that it’s going to be even more exciting. 

Islam Makhachev assures fans the Usman fight will be surprisingly better  

After the Dagestani icon defeated Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to fulfill his dream of becoming a double champ, he picked Kamaru Usman from the contender pool for his first title defense. The reason? Makhachev believes it would be a legacy fight for him against the former pound-for-pound king.

However, fans and experts across the sport weren’t very thrilled, since the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ had only just returned to the win column after three straight losses. With that in mind, many believed Makhachev would cruise to an easy victory. But the newly crowned welterweight champ doesn’t see it that way. Makhachev claims Kamaru Usman would still beat Michael Morales and Carlos Prates with ease, and that’s why he believes it would be a tough and exciting matchup. 

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“I said I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman next. Although the media doesn’t believe in this fight, as I can see. But in my opinion, Usman would steamroll through these up-and-comers like (Michael) Morales, (Carlos) Prates, the striker. Those guys haven’t been checked yet. I think Usman would be the hardest fight for me, and in terms of media, we could build it up like former champion, the most title defenses in my weight division. We could promote this fight and make it fun to watch.”  Makhachev added in the Red Corner MMA interview.  

Well, the Dagestani champ and the Nigerian welterweight legend have both shown real interest in fighting each other, and the UFC might even push this matchup for the projected White House card. Still, another surging contender, Ian Garry, just scored a fantastic victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar co-main event. So, it’s safe to say both the lightweight and welterweight divisions have become a major point of dispute among UFC fans when it comes to matchmaking. 

With frustration growing over Arman Tsarukyan missing out on his lightweight title shot, do you think White will face the same backlash if he books Kamaru Usman against Islam Makhachev? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below.