Islam Makhachev seems to be on an unstoppable streak, making a strong case to become the greatest lightweight to ever step into the Octagon. But who could possibly take the 155 lbs gold from the reigning P4P king? Interestingly, Beneil Dariush has weighed in on the debate, listing the fighters he believes have the potential to dethrone Makhachev—and the names might just surprise you. Curious to find out? Stay with us as we dive into another exciting episode of MMA Roundup!

From Makhachev, we will move on forward to Israel Adesanya, who has poured down respect for Khamzat Chimaev and finally, we will end our montage with a piece of information about Jiri Prochazka. So, without any further ado, let us get started.

Beneil Dariush names former featherweight champ to defeat Islam Makhachev

After his successful first-round victory against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, the lightweight champion is in no mood to step back from being the greatest UFC champ to step inside the Octagon. The Dagestani has practically cleared out his entire division go and has no intention of letting the 155 title leave his waist.

So, who has what it takes to defeat him? According to Beneil Dariush, former featherweight champ, Max Holloway might hand Islam Makhachev his second defeat.

While having a conversation with the media, Darisuh stated, “You know who’d be interesting? Max Holloway. I think Max Holloway could be an interesting fight for Makhachev. So we’ll see… Because he’s hard to hold, he has excellent cardio, and he throws a lot of volume, and I think these are things that could be difficult for Makhachev.”

Max Holloway is one of the best to have ever embraced the Octagon. However, his recent defeat against Ilia Topuria might have rocked him and the prospect of him standing toe-to-toe against Islam Makhachev is a bit far-fetched now because the Dagestani is in his prime. Well, moving on to the next news involving Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev.

Israel Adesanya emphasizes that he respects Khamzat Chimaev

Going into UFC 308, there were speculations that Robert Whittaker might hand Khamzat Chimaev his first-ever defeat in his MMA career but what happened blew everyone’s mind as the undefeated Chechen warrior took the former middleweight fighter to a realm he hadn’t ever encountered as he submitted him in the very first round to win the battle. His victory shook the entire middleweight division and former two-time middleweight champion. Israel Adesanya has nothing but praises for the undefeated warrior.

While having a conversation with Mike Bohn, Adesanya stated, “I haven’t envisioned it. I’ve just been focused on this; [Nassourdine] Imavov for the last twenty weeks or so. That’s the only fight I’ve had in my mind. But yeah, seeing how, what’s his name?, Khamzat did definitely made me go like ok, he’s legit. But again, I’ve seen him fight over how many years and you know he’s game.”

He further added,“The fight with Gilbert [Burns] was the one that made me respect his dog in him. So I was like oh yeah, this guy’s really; he’s ’bout that life. So yeah, whenever it happens, it happens. But right now, I’m focused on Imavov.” Khamzat Chimaev’s victory cemented his title contention chances as UFC CEO Dana White has asserted that he is next in the line after UFC 312.

With Chimaev moving towards the middleweight title, let us move on forward to the light-heavyweight division and a rather not-so-surprising confession from former champion Jiri Prochazka.

Jiri Prochazka clears the air after controversial UFC 311 celebratory moment

Former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka decimated Jamahal Hill at UFC 311. When asked how he planned to celebrate his victory, the former champ gave a rather unamusing response. “I took two f*cking crazy guys from my village to here to see this event and today I will bring them to my hotel and they will see something,” said Prochakza to Megan Olivi.

This statement caused a minor uproar among the MMA community, who questioned Jiri Prochakza’s sexuality. Well, the former champion has now come forward to clarify any such speculation. “I wanna clarify the interview after the fight. I said something like, we will celebrate with the guys in the room and all these things. Just to be sure, everyone, I’m a straight man,” said the former champ in an interview with ‘The Schmo’

Jiri Prochazka’s English skills might not be as well-versed as the fans might think and thus this confusion. Regardless, what’s your take on today’s breaking news? State your thoughts in the comments below.