Islam Makahchev is finally getting a shot at becoming double champ. Now that Jack Della Maddalena holds the 170-pound title after beating the Dagestani lightweight champ’s good friend, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 315, Makhachev has already confirmed he is going to fight ‘JDM’ for the welterweight title.

Or at least he intends to. ‘JDM’ has already accepted the “beautiful challenge”, but there hasn’t been any word from the UFC yet. But according to Russian combat sport journalist, Igor Lazorin, Della Maddalena-Makhachev is a go, and that it may happen in Abu Dhabi.

“So, Ali Abdelaziz confirmed to me that Islam Makhachev will have his next welterweight title fight against Jack Della Maddalena. No date yet,” Lazorin said in a video on his Instagram handle in Russian. “Islam Makhachev will have his next fight for the welterweight title. There is no date yet, but I think it could be in Abu Dhabi in the fall,” the Russian wrote in the caption.

Although Makhachev is from Dagestan, a card in Abu Dhabi would give him the home court advantage because of the predominantly Muslim fanbase in the UAE’s capital. The UFC, of course, holds a PPV card in Abu Dhabi every November. So if ‘JDM’ vs. Makhachev is indeed targeted for Abu Dhabi, fans will have to wait until November to see them fight.

But then again, while Team Makhachev may want the fight to take place in Abu Dhabi, Della Maddalena may have something to say about that. After all, the Aussie welterweight champ will almost definitely prefer his first title defense to happen in his homeland, and may object to fighting in Abu Dhabi. Or maybe he doesn’t mind fighting in Abu Dhabi—we won’t know for sure until there is an official announcement.

Hopes of Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev still alive

There are other things that need to be worked out—like if Makhachev will be allowed to keep his lightweight title while moving up. The Dagestani certainly wants to, but we will have to wait and see if the UFC agrees. After all, the next lightweight title fight is already set for UFC 317 to cap off the International Fight Week in late June.

Ilia Topuria is now set to fight former champion Charles Oliveira for the 155-pound title, perhaps the interim one, on the June 28 Las Vegas card. Of course, if ‘JDM’ had lost to Muhammad, it would have been a Makhachev-Topuria super-fight, instead of Oliveira-Topuria, but in good news, there is still a chance Makhachev-Topuria still happens.

Since the Dagestani wants to keep his lightweight title, it seems like he intends to defend that title in the near future—in which case, if Topuria beats Oliveira in their interim lightweight title clash, and Makhachev beats Della Maddalena, we could very well have Makhachev-Topuria next. What do you think about the rumors around Makhachev-JDM?