Islam Makhachev will earn middleweight title shot by beating Prates vs Morales winner says legend

Michael Bisping believes that you wouldn’t be able to deny Islam Makhachev the chance to make history.

Makhachev has said that his next fight will be one of his last after making the decision to not defend his title in January.

This goes against comments that the champion made last year, with Makhachev saying he wanted ‘many more’ fights to keep extending his win streak.

With time no longer on the Russian’s side, it has been suggested that he could have just one more welterweight outing before trying to achieve something no one else has done in the UFC.

Makhachev's comments on why he isn't fighting at UFC 336 have rubbed fans up the wrong way.

Carlos Prates has said he will finish Islam Makhachev’s legacy by facing the champion next year following his upcoming interim title fight.

The Russian choosing to wait for one clear contender to emerge at welterweight has led to some suggesting that he won’t be staying at welterweight for much longer.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping said that Makhachev may set his sights on becoming a three-weight champion before he retires.

He made the case that if the titleholder defeats whoever emerges as the interim champion, it would be hard to deny him this opportunity.

“Moving up to 185 and trying to become the triple champ? I like the sound of that and if anyone deserves it, it is Islam Makhachev.”

Bisping used Alex Pereira getting the chance to fight for the interim heavyweight title earlier this year to back up his point.

‘Poatan’ reclaimed the light heavyweight belt before vacating it and trying to become the first three-division champion but came up short.

“You can’t say that Islam Makhachev hasn’t earned that opportunity,” Bisping added.

Before making the first defense of his welterweight title in August, Islam Makhachev was asked about the potential of trying to become a three-weight champion.

“I’m not gonna say no (to trying to become the first three-weight champion),” he told UFC on Paramount.

While he’s achieved success at 170 pounds, the Russian was very honest about how difficult it was initially to put on extra size after moving up from lightweight.

He pointed to this same factor when explaining why he believes that middleweight would be a tall order.

“It’s gonna be really hard, man, to gain weight, to become big and also, that division is very dangerous, we will see,” Makhachev added.