Islam Makhachev says his next fight will be one of the last of his career
“My next fight is one of the last in my career.”
Islam Makhachev has put a clock on the back end of his career — without closing the door.
The UFC welterweight champion posted on X on Friday that his next fight will be one of the last of his career, and that he wants it to come against the best of the two men fighting for his division's interim title.
"My next fight is one of the last in my career," Makhachev wrote. "They say Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me. So I want to face the best of them and prove to the world once again who is the best in world."
That is the key distinction in a post that has already been widely misread. Makhachev did not say his next fight will be his last. He said it will be one of the last — wording that leaves room, and that matches his own recent history on the subject. Before UFC 330, he dismissed retirement talk outright, calling it fake news and saying he wanted to keep going.
The opponent, whenever the fight happens, will be the winner of Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales. The two meet for the interim welterweight title at UFC 336 on Jan. 30, 2027, in Toronto, and Makhachev is on course to face the winner at a future date to unify the titles.
That bout exists because Makhachev will not fight in January. Prates had been in talks to face the champion on the UFC 336 card until Makhachev told the UFC he would not be ready for that date. UFC CEO Dana White has said Makhachev was slated for January and then said he did not want to fight until after Ramadan, which pushes his return to at least May.
Makhachev, 35, is 29-1. His last fight was at UFC 330 in August, when he defended the welterweight belt by unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry — his first welterweight title defence, and his 17th consecutive UFC victory, the longest winning streak in UFC history.
The two men fighting for the right to meet him bring very different cases. Prates is 24-7 and has won all seven of his UFC fights by knockout, including wins over former champions Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards. Morales is unbeaten at 19-0.
Makhachev's message to both of them is the same: he is not picking the easier path. He wants the best of them — and one more chance to prove it.
