Nine months after he outpointed Jack Della Maddalena and became the welterweight division’s new champion, which also marked his divisional debut, Islam Makhachev will defend the title on Saturday. On August 16, the Dagestani champion is scheduled to face Ian Machado Garry at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena.

While many fans look forward to yet another electrifying performance from the title holder and the challenger, in subdued whispers, questions surrounding Islam Makhachev’s potential retirement have begun to emerge. Speaking about the scenario, which could put the welterweight division in a state of unrest, one of the most direct comments came from Joe Rogan.

“Listen, Islam may retire. He may retire. He’s done a lot,” Rogan told former champion Aljamain Sterling in JRE’s recent episode. “He’s competed in two different weight classes and won world championships in two different weight classes.”

Rogan’s comments stem more from complexities surrounding the 170-pound division’s championship line-ups than from any desire for Makhachev to hang up his gloves. If he manages to outpoint or stop Garry, then, with titles in two weight classes, there isn’t really much for Makhachev to accomplish.

Instead, Rogan and Sterling’s discussion centered around another possibility. It involved a matchup between two of the most exciting fighters currently on the UFC roster, top-ranked welterweight Carlos Prates and Ecuadorian phenom Michael Morales.

Considering Morales’ grappling background and the Brazilian’s proclivity for knockouts, Rogan felt the fight between the two rising stars was an ideal stylistic matchup that offers plenty of fireworks. Sterling differed slightly, however. According to him, the matchup between Morales and Makhachev made more sense.

While excited about the Morales-Makhachev matchup, Rogan, who felt it would be “100% a great world championship fight,” nevertheless sounded apprehensive.

“If he (Makhachev) beats Ian, if he submits Ian and says, “I’ve had enough. I’m going to do what Khabib did, and I’m going to coach now.” I could see that. And then I could see Morales and Prates for the f**king undisputed title,” he added.

What makes Rogan’s speculation so intriguing is that the man at the center of his speculation, Islam Makhachev, does not seem to entertain any thought of leaving the sport anytime soon.

While Joe Rogan speculates, Islam Makhachev has other plans

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, the Dagestani star dismissed the rumors surrounding his retirement and said, “Somebody put the fake news (that) I’m going to retire after this fight. No, it’s not true, man. I want to keep going, you know? The feeling when you stay in shape, stay like (you) become the best fighter in the world—it’s an amazing thing, you know? You (are) never going to find something like this outside this sport. I want to keep fighting, and we will beat all the records and stay here (for many) more years.”

Makhachev appears intent on extending his current winning streak to twenty fights.

Still, the retirement question is not entirely new for Makhachev. Reportedly, his mother had been urging him to retire from mixed martial arts even before he switched to professional ranks.

She appears to have raised the issue right after he won the Combat Sambo world championships in Sofia in 2016. According to Makhachev, his mother used his trainer and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov’s case as an example. The former lightweight champion had retired unbeaten in 2021 to honor his own mother’s wishes after his father, Andulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away.

According to the welterweight champion, his mother, while not enforcing a strict ultimatum, has frequently asked him to stop competing and even joked about wanting to speak with Nurmagomedov about the subject.

Makhachev will turn 35 this October. Considering his run, he likely finds himself in his prime and still has a lot more to offer the sport than simply walking away after a title defense.

What’s more, after receiving a nod from boxing’s biggest power broker, Turki Alalshikh, Makhachev appears open to the idea of making a debut in the ring as well.

Given his ambitions and the way the landscape is lined up currently, it would be hard to imagine that Islam Makhachev is leaving the sport anytime soon.