Ready To SMASH!

Islam Makhachev is hoping to fight three times in 2024.

The reigning lightweight champion has only accomplished that feat once in his UFC career, logging three straight wins in 2021 over Drew Dober (UFC 259), Thiago Moises (UFC Vegas 31), and Dan Hooker (UFC 267). But as Ramadan draws near, the promotion may need to hustle if it hopes to honor his current request.

“I’ll be ready to smash someone in March, or see you after Ramadan,” Makhachev wrote on social media.

Much like his longtime friend and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 32 year-old Makhachev does not compete during Ramadan, giving matchmakers very few options heading into the New Year. The only pay-per-view (PPV) card in March is UFC 299, headlined by Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera.

UFC 299 wraps just a few days before Ramadan begins.

“We need minimum 45 days to recover,” Nurmagomedov previously told ESPN. “We compete at such a high level. That’s why we have to watch everything. It’s very hard and very dangerous, too. All day you don’t drink, don’t eat. Injuries can come. That’s why [you can’t have] too much contact. Even without sparring, it’s still hard.”

In addition, Ramadan ends during UFC 300 fight week, which means we’re likely to see Makhachev delayed until some point next summer. That’s unless Dana White and Co. can manage to cobble together a 155-pound title defense within the next few weeks and find a spot for it on the increasingly-busy schedule for first-quarter 2024.

“I’m planning to fight before Ramadan,” Makhachev told reporters earlier this year. “I already informed the UFC that I’m ready to fight before Ramadan, I would like to have time to do three fights in 2024. I will train as much as possible, constantly keep in shape, and wait for a call from the management.”

There’s also the UFC Saudi Arabia card on March 2.

That event is expected to follow the traditional “Fight Night” format and stream on ESPN or ESPN+, or perhaps both, so it would be unusual to have a champion with Makhachev’s clout competing on a non-PPV card. Then again, this marks the promotion’s debut in Riyadh, so perhaps UFC wants to put its best foot forward.

So does Justin Gaethje, who may find out Makhachev “can do more than kicking.”