Islam Makhachev is actively looking for an opponent for the next fight.
Last Sunday, the Russian fighter defeated Drew Dober at UFC 259 in spectacular style and set to work on a plan for 2021, according to which he expected to have three fights.
True, problems may arise with the organization of the next fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's teammate has risen to 11th place in the lightweight rankings and expects to get the opportunity to fight with a star rival, but none of them is yet eager to accept his challenge.
Tony Ferguson had already managed to refuse, and Rafael Dos Anjos, although he was not so categorical, put forward a certain condition.
The victory over Dober was, if not the largest in Makhachev's career, then at least one of the most discussed.
Even Dana White was impressed by his performance, which he admitted during a press conference.
The UFC president admired the physical form and skill of the fighter, and also reacted positively to the desire of the Russian to meet with Ferguson.
At the end of the bout, Islam named Tony as a possible future adversary.
On paper, the battle between Makhachev and Ferguson could turn out to be extremely interesting, and not only stylistically.
Everyone knows about the long history of the confrontation between the American and Nurmagomedov, and the battle with his heir could dot the i's.
If the Russian won, talk about a possible duel between Tony and Khabib would have stopped by themselves, and his defeat could lead to one of the most anticipated battles of 2021.
But the former interim UFC champion said outright that he was not interested in meeting Islam.
“The good old boob cousin wants to fight for him.
Typical Dagestani fighter: "You and I must fight."
Not now.
Soon.
We must fight.
But not right now.
Maybe next year.
With all due respect, you would walk in the forest, ”Ferguson wrote on his Instagram page.
But despite Ferguson's loud statements, one should not put an end to his potential battle with Makhachev.
Of course, Tony's merits are still noticeably superior to his counterpart, but now he is not in a position to dictate his terms to matchmakers.
In the passive he has two defeats in a row, and he hardly has to expect to fight with a fighter from the top 4.
And if White really considers it necessary to arrange their meeting with Islam, he will certainly do it.
True, Makhachev himself decided not to dwell on Ferguson's candidacy and returned to the idea of a battle with Dos Anjos.
The fighters were supposed to fight at the end of last year, but both times the duel did not take place - first the Brazilian passed a positive test for coronavirus, and then the Russian fell ill with mumps.
True, if Islam was ready to wait a month for the sake of a duel, then Raphael immediately agreed to fight with another.
As a result, Paul Felder, who was in far from ideal form, became his opponent.
In February, he announced the suspension of his career, and took the fight on short notice - five days before the show.
In the past few days, the athletes exchanged views on social networks, and it was Dos Anjos who initiated a small skirmish.
He criticized Makhachev's decision to quit calling Ferguson and noted that the victory over Dober did not give him the right to demand such a thing.
Rafael called for "stopping the hype" and recalled that in March 2019, Beneil Dariush sorted out Drew ahead of schedule, but then no one paid attention to this.
In response, Makhachev turned to Dos Anjos with a proposal to hold a face-to-face duel.
At the same time, the Russian noted that he was ready to fight in the summer.
“Hey, Rafael Dos Anjos.
If you don't like all this hype around me, then let's solve our issue in July, ”Makhachev wrote on Twitter.
Dos Anjos responded to Makhachev's proposal.
The ex-UFC lightweight champion did not give up the battle with the 11th rating.
However, he said that he would agree to enter the cage with him only if the victory would give him the right to arrange revenge with Nurmagomedov.
“I will make sure that Khabib continues to enjoy his vacation.
They drove, "- the Russian found in response.
It is worth noting that Makhachev's duel with Dos Anjos, and not with Ferguson, seems more likely.
Firstly, the Brazilian has recently returned to his native category and has not yet managed to break into the top five.
Secondly, the UFC loves beautiful stories and will certainly not pass by the opportunity to arrange a duel between Nurmagomedov's pupil and a fighter whom he defeated earlier.
Opponents met each other in 2014, and then Khabib prevailed by unanimous decision of the judges.
Undoubtedly, the confrontation between Makhachev and Ferguson looks even more intriguing, but the status of Islam so far hardly allows him to count on it.
Yes, Tony is not in the best shape and has lost two times in a row, but his past achievements do not yet allow the UFC to make him a gatekeeper for fighters from the top ten.
Despite advances from Nurmagomedov, the Russian is not yet in the top 10, so it will be extremely difficult to secure a fight with Tony right off the bat.
Perhaps Makhachev should think about a possible meeting with those who are just a little higher than him.
The same Dariush scored an excellent move and has six victories in a row, which makes the battle with him extremely interesting.
By stopping such a seasoned opponent, Islam is sure to secure itself a top 10 spot.
And it will be much easier to negotiate with him.
Beneil is not the star of the division and is unlikely to refuse to meet with the protégé of Khabib himself.
Also not occupied by the aforementioned Felder and Dan Hooker.
True, the New Zealander suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Michael Chandler in January and may not be able to recover by July.
Of course, victories over these fighters would not have made such a splash as triumphs in fights with Ferguson and Dos Anjos, but they would help to take another step on the way to the top of the division.
And in the case of Makhachev, it is better to move a little slower than we would like than not to move at all.
In the run-up to UFC 259, he hasn't competed for 17 months - an unforgivable long time for a fighter looking to become a champion in the coming years.
As Nurmagomedov correctly said, now Makhachev needs to remain active and perform regularly.
Only this will prove that he is really ready to fight for the belt.