On November 15th, Islam Makhachev will face Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. In front of a packed Madison Square Garden Arena, the Dagestani legend will look to call himself a double champ, with the Aussie’s welterweight belt on the line. So far, the odds have favored Makhachev to defeat ‘JDM’ in the most anticipated superfight of the year. So don’t be surprised if he pulls it off when the time comes. However, as the former 155 lbs kingpin gets one step closer to glory, the retirement talks have also started making rounds.

Recently, Henry Cejudo claimed on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, “I’m hearing through the grapevines, too, that Islam Makhachev… might be uh… he doesn’t have too many fights in his career, man.” He also mentioned that Makhachev might follow Khabib’s path and retire young, further adding, “there’s something different with the Russians where they love that prestige. They love leaving on top.” Well, ‘Triple C’s words have sparked a wave of speculation about Makhachev retiring after UFC 322. But Khabib Nurmagomedov decided to clear those doubts with a simple social media post.

Khabib Nurmagomedov clears the air on Islam Makhachev’s retirement talks 

‘The Eagle’ posted a photo on Instagram with Islam Makhachev, head coach Javier Mendez, and other members of the American Kickboxing Academy. In the caption, he wrote, “The most important days are ahead. So far, everything is going according to plan (translated from Russian to English). @islam_makhachev almost time, my Brother 👊.”

Although the undefeated Russian legend didn’t say it outright, Khabib’s words made it clear that Islam Makhachev isn’t going anywhere after facing Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. When he mentioned that “many important days are ahead,” it pretty much answered the retirement question. And it’s not just the former lightweight champ who’s confident that his teammate has more left in the tank. Head coach Javier Mendez previously revealed that Islam has three fights left in his career, including the one at Madison Square Garden.

In a Submission Radio interview from June, Mendez said, “I’m anticipating (another few fights), I’m anticipating we’ll see him for maybe another three fights total, let’s see who’s in the works for that. Let’s say if we get by Della Maddalena, I don’t really wanna say we’re gonna get by him because this guy is a tough customer… It’s hard to overlook JDM.”

Makhachev is currently 34 years old, and in fighting years, he’s still in his prime. With that in mind, he could possibly push through a few more opponents until he’s 36 or 37 years old. So, it seems like the former 155 lbs king might actually stick around in the welterweight division to take on the rising contenders. However, that will only happen if he gets past Della Maddalena in what could be the toughest fight of his career. And if you ask Demetrious Johnson, things could get really interesting once the fight hits the ground.

Demetrious Johnson finds UFC 322 headliner interesting   

Ahead of UFC 322, we’re about to see Russia vs Australia all over again, just like when Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski faced off twice. Both times, the Dagestani came out on top, once in a close battle at UFC 284 and the other in dominant fashion at UFC 294. But this time at Madison Square Garden, Makhachev will face a far more dangerous opponent in Jack Della Maddalena, a matchup that’s even made his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, a little nervous. And for good reason.

‘JDM’ has emerged as one of the best anti-wrestlers in the current UFC roster. At UFC 315, he completely shut down Belal Muhammad’s wrestling and then sealed the deal with a dominant unanimous decision win. Because of that, former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson believes the fight could get very interesting once it hits the ground.

On the Mighty Guru podcast, ‘DJ’ said, “It could be two things. It could be a very, very boring fight, or it could be a very, very exciting fight. Meaning why it could be boring—that if Islam could take down JDM, get his back, hold him there, outgrapple him, stifle him. He could potentially do that, but one thing I love about JDM when he fights, he never accepts that position.”

And that’s absolutely true. Della Maddalena has shown incredible grappling transitions before — most notably against Gilbert Burns at UFC 299, which Johnson also pointed out in the video. That makes him a more formidable challenge than anyone Islam has faced so far.

That said, now that it’s clear the Dagestani star likely won’t retire if he wins his next fight, do you think that will remain the same if he loses? The comment section is all yours!