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Islam Makhachev currently sits atop the throne as the king and champion of the UFC‘s lightweight division.
But fellow lightweight star Justin Gaethje says that Makhachev is not unbeatable.
In fact, Gaethje thinks he’s far from it.
And ahead of Gaethje’s UFC 291 showdown with former No. 1 contender Dustin Poirier, he revealed who he believes is the one most likely to dethrone Makhachev.
“If we’re going off of what we know then it’s gonna be [Alexander] Volkanovski because he already fought him and it was a really close fight,” Gaethje told Shakiel Mahjouri. “I’ve never fought him, Poirier’s never fought him. I guess if you want to say someone it could be the 125-pound champion (Alexandre Pantoja). Who knocked him out? I was gonna make fun of [Brendan Schaub]…I’ve made fun of him so much.
“I think Volkanovski is the answer for now, but I can’t wait to get in there. I know for a fact he’s not Khabib and I want to go in there and prove that.”
Now, it appears that Gaethje was only talking about fighters who have squared off with Makhachev in the past. But it is pretty surprising not to see him outright claim that he would be the one to take his title.
Volkanovski and Makhachev fought at UFC 284 in February and it was Makhachev who walked away with a unanimous decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 49-47).
Now Makhachev looks in line to face a familiar test.
Former champion Charles Oliveira, whom Makhacehv submitted at UFC 280 to win the title, is back for his belt. Oliveira made short work of Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 with a first-round TKO to solidify his spot as the best of the rest.
However, the UFC has not yet scheduled that fight. Should Gaethje take care of Poirier, he could well be next in line to face either Makhachev or Oliveira.