After defending his Lightweight title in enemy territory and giving fans a fight for the ages, Islam Makhachev appears to be ready for his next challenge. While speaking to BT sport, the Russian even named the fighter that he would like to face next. And although there is yet to be any decision made on Makhachev‘s future, his expressing the desire to face another top contender just displays the type of character that he is built of.

What makes this call-out interesting is that as per UFC legend Chael Sonnen, it was a fight that was once disapproved by commentator Joe Rogan. And though Rogan is not a matchmaker, his relationship with President Dana White could have played an influence in this scenario. Despite this, Makhachev has shown his choice of opponent for his next title defense, and it’s more than likely that the promotion would go ahead with the match-up in the near future.

Islam Makhachev claims Beneil Dariush is a worthy contender; wants to fight him next

Coming off a hard-fought victory that many felt could have gone either way; the 31-year-old expressed his continuing desire to face the toughest challengers in the division. When asked who he wanted to face next, Makhachev named fourth-ranked Beneil Dariush as the ideal candidate.

Dariush riding an eight-fight win streak is clearly one of the toughest match-ups for the Lightweight champ; when looked at from a style perspective. But despite such technical challenges, he expressed his belief that the 33-year-old deserves a title shot. Despite naming him, Makhachev eventually stated that he would face anyone the UFC offered him.

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Talking about Dariush‘s upcoming fight against former champ Charles Oliveira, he said, “I hope Beneil wins. Because I already beat Oliveira and I need some new challenge.”

Also reiterating his desire to face the American, he pointed out his impressive skill set.

“Dariush is going to be a good fight because this guy has good skills. Striking skills, wrestling skills, and grappling skills. That’s why it’s going to be a good fight.” explained Makhachev.

UFC legend Chael Sonnen earlier claimed it was Joe Rogan who wanted this fight to not go ahead

Now what makes this match intriguing was the fact that it was set to take place even before Makhachev had won the title. And former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen also covered this in one of his videos. Sonnen claimed that despite the fact that the fight was very close to taking place, Joe Rogan had suggested against it to the UFC boss.

His exact words were, “Dana says, ‘I was gonna [islam vs charles] and Joe Rogan just grabbed me and told me not to’. That was just interesting.”

Although the legend himself wondered why that happened, considering that Rogan was not a part of matchmaking; he went on to claim that maybe the commentator believed they didn’t have to necessarily cancel each other out before fighting for the title.

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“I think what Joe’s belief was is ‘Hey, put Islam in a title fight. Once that gets situated; bring Benny in. Don’t have them eliminate each other now in contendership. Do it for a championship,’” explained Sonnen.

Despite whatever happened earlier, Makhachev is clearly looking for a challenge in his next title defense. And if Dariush is good enough to go past the talented Oliveira fans might get to experience yet another masterpiece in the Lightweight division.

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