Islam Makhachev Flexes on Daniel Cormier to Debunk ‘Fat’ Welterweight Narrative
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Islam Makhachev and Daniel Cormier keep trying to roast each other every time they meet, and this time it was DC's turn to call the double champ 'fat.'
Daniel Cormier thought he found an easy target backstage, but Islam Makhachev wasn’t having any of it. Following Makhachev’s high-profile clash against Ian Machado Garry at 170 pounds, the inevitable debate over moving up a weight class followed him straight into the locker room. Stepping out of his familiar 155-pound territory meant carrying extra mass, and Cormier immediately saw an opening to poke fun at his longtime teammate’s new physique.
“Brother, today in there you look fat,” Cormier said bluntly with a smirk. “You look fat at welterweight, brother.”
Six-Packs and Championship Resumes
Makhachev’s rebuttal was instant. Rather than arguing the point, the Dagestani champion lifted his fight shirt, showing off a shredded six-pack that instantly killed the critique.
Cormier immediately backed off, laughing as he caught himself in 4K. “Oh wait, maybe he’s not fat.”
Make no mistake, Makhachev was the one who started this war of words with Cormier. When he met the former UFC champ backstage, he taunted him saying,
“Two belts, two weight class, defend the belts, break all records,” Makhachev fired back. “What you have now?”
The jab landed clean. Cormier himself is a two-division UFC champion at light heavyweight and heavyweight, defending both titles before heading off into the Hall of Fame. But Makhachev has never hidden his ambition to surpass every milestone set by the generation before him at the American Kickboxing Academy, whether that means chasing Cormier’s double-champ status or hunting down the longest win streaks in UFC history.
Moving up to welterweight is always a gamble. Fighters often risk losing speed, stamina, or conditioning when they stop cutting drastic weight to take on bigger frames. Yet against a massive, 6-foot-3 opponent in Machado Garry, Makhachev showed that the extra pounds hadn't diminished his work rate or athletic output inside the Octagon.
Between title defenses, record chases, and GOAT debates, the pressure on Makhachev is at an all-time high. But as Cormier found out the hard way, trying to clown the pound-for-pound standout about his cardio or conditioning at 170 pounds will only get you flexed on.
