“I think Islam is a welterweight; he’s already big. He just kills himself to make weight, and every time he makes weight, he looks horrible. After the weigh-in, he’s big again.” Not too long ago, Gilbert Burns slammed the soon-to-be former lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, regarding his extreme weight cut as a 155-pounder. But that is going to change now.

The Dagestani has been talking about moving to the welterweight division for over a year now. And after Belal Muhammad lost the welterweight belt to Jack Della Maddalena, the path opened for Makhachev to finally become a 2-division champion. Makhachev often complained about the weight cut, but now, he’s having trouble putting on weight as a welterweight contender.

During a recent conversation with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Makhachev complained about his weight gain process. “I will try to be big, you know. It’s not easy, man. All my life I’ve cut weight. But now when I want to be big, my weight is stay same position, you know. I try to lift more. We do some program and like slowly, slowly, we bring some maybe 2 kg right now. And it’s very hard, you know. But I don’t want to be big by food, you know, eating and not training. I want to be with the like muscles, you know. I went to training, do like a right lifting program and bring some muscles,” he confessed during the chat.

However, that came along with some perks. The Dagestani champ admitted that he’d love the training camp for his welterweight debut. The reason? He’d get to eat everything he could with his team, without worrying about missing weight. Back when he did an extreme weight cut as a lightweight, his teammates refused to eat in order to support him. And as expected, Makhachev didn’t like that. But now, he happily said, “I’m gonna eat with whole team.” 

Soon, these words found their way to Instagram as Home Of Fight shared the same on their profile. Needless to say, the fans couldn’t stay back and took to the comments section with their opinions. Let’s see what they had to say.

Fans push back on Islam Makhachev’s weight gain woes

Most of the fans know that Islam Makhachev is a big guy. He was already pretty huge for a lightweight champion. According to many, the Dagestani walked around as a welterweight. That’s why when fans came across Makhachev complaining about the troubles of putting on weight, they branded him as a troll. One fan commented, “He’s is already 170 ……… don’t fool us ……….” Another fan claimed, “walks around at 200+ but needs to put more weight on 😂😂.”

Makhachev has already competed at near-welterweight size — at least functionally. After his UFC 311 win over Renato Moicano in late January, data from the California State Athletic Commission revealed that the lightweight champion weighed 178 pounds on fight night — just over 24 hours after officially weighing in at 154.5 pounds. That’s a rehydration gain of nearly 24 pounds, placing him squarely in welterweight territory, per New York Post.

One more fan wrote, “Bro the baddest man on the planet but acting like a straight sissy being not able to eat more 🤦‍♂️.” Meanwhile, others called him out, commenting, “He wants to be a weight bully in the other division too?” This likely stems from the perception that Makhachev, like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, walks around far above the lightweight limit — making his claim of struggling to gain weight seem disingenuous to some.

Some of the fans decided to take a hilarious approach to the situation. Take this one for instance, “Send to America, 2-3 weeks and forget it.” The individual might have been recollecting one of Makhachev’s most iconic exchanges — a moment with Daniel Cormier, where the Dagestani offered to train DC’s son in wrestling. “If you want your son [to be a] high-level wrestler, send him two-three years [to] Dagestan and forget… One time you can call him in six months,” Islam joked.

Naturally, when he now claims that that gaining weight — in one of MMA’s most celebrated wrestling regions — is difficult, fans were quick to call it out. Additionally, a few others dragged Cormier into the picture. Actually, they dragged DC’s epic fried chicken debacle.

“Just flw DC’s diet 😂,” followed by, another fan with the same advise, “Bratha he need DC meal plan.” These jabs weren’t just for laughs — they also contrasted how different fighters approach bulking, with Cormier’s weight gain often being the opposite of calculated or clean. Still, not everyone dismissed Islam’s concern.

A more grounded reply pointed out what strength coaches and athletes already know: “It’s almost like gaining lean muscle is really hard.” This fan, like many in the MMA community, understands that clean bulking — especially with discipline and without fat gain — takes time, and may genuinely be harder for someone like Islam, who’s spent a career conditioning his body to shrink.

Whatever the truth, Makhachev’s challenge at welterweight won’t be just about numbers. With Maddalena holding the welterweight crown, the Dagestani has more than just a weight class to conquer. Is the weight gain real — or is this all part of a bigger mental game from one of the sport’s most disciplined tacticians?