Islam Makhachev secured another victory at UFC 302 by defeating Dustin Poirier to defend his lightweight title. Following his win, Makhachev expressed dissatisfaction with holding just one belt, revealing his ambition to move up to welterweight to challenge for the title.

Edwards’ Perspective

Current welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, last defended his title against Colby Covington at UFC 296, marking his second successful defense. Edwards is open to the idea of fighting Makhachev but believes both fighters have unfinished business in their respective divisions. Edwards is set to defend his title against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester.

Regarding a potential fight against Makhachev, Edwards stated:

“I welcome it, but I think we both have work to do in our divisions. He just defended against his first real lightweight. He has a few more lightweights to go through before thinking about moving up a weight class. If we both keep our win streaks, why not later in the future?”

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Makhachev’s Call for a Champ vs. Champ Fight

Makhachev, after his impressive performance at UFC 302, declared his intent to challenge for the welterweight title, emphasizing that he has already faced the top competitors in the lightweight division. He expressed his desire to fight Edwards, stating,

“My dream fight, I want to fight in the next division [up], 170. I want to fight Leon Edwards”

Edwards’ Middleweight Ambitions

Edwards also expressed his aspirations to become a champion in two weight classes:

“I want to move up a weight class, that’s my plan because I’m a big guy, and I like to eat, so I’d like to move up and challenge for the middleweight belt. That’s my goal.”

He added that a middleweight title fight guarantees a super fight and a place in the history books:

“My plan is to chase greatness. Title fights in my division don’t excite me as much. The idea of getting another belt excites me, so my plan is to move up next year. I’ll defend my belt twice this year and then maybe another defense next year, followed by a big middleweight match”

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