Who should face Islam Makhachev for welterweight gold? Analyzing the division's title picture
Islam Makhachev is the reigning UFC welterweight champion but does not yet have any confirmed challengers. Five of the division's fighters are gunning for the title, but not all of them are in a position to demand a championship bout.
At UFC 322, Islam Makhachev achieved his professional dream of becoming a two-division UFC champion, dethroning Jack Della Maddalena for the promotion's welterweight belt. It was a dominant unanimious decision win that saw Makhachev outwrestle 'JDM' with supreme ease. In the aftermath of his win, the welterweight division awaited Makhachev's first title defense. However, nearly seven months later, Makhachev has yet to fight, with several potential contenders emerging on a mission for gold. Who, though, is most deserving?
The UFC welterweight title scene: Islam Makhachev's challengers
The most deserving welterweight to face Islam Makhachev is also the fighter to whom he has been most linked: Ian Machado Garry. 'The Future,' who is currently 17-1, is Ireland's best hope for their first UFC champion since the glory days of Conor McGregor. In terms of merit, Garry is second to none. Not only is he ranked #1 in the division, but he defeated, at UFC on ESPN 66, the #2 ranked Carlos Prates, who is on a three-fight win streak, and the #5 ranked Belal Muhammad, a former welterweight champion, at UFC Fight Night 265. The win over Prates, especially, has aged well, given that Garry took the bout on short-notice.
Not only is the Irishman the most deserving title challenger, but he is even expected to face Makhachev this August, though the UFC has not yet made any announcements. However, if not Garry, the second-most deserving welterweight is the 24-7 Prates, who is on a three-fight win streak, with every win coming by way of knockout/TKO, including back-to-back finishes of Leon Edwards at UFC 322 and Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Fight Night 275, with both men being former welterweight champions. The only barrier to Prates receiving a title shot is the fact that he lost to a short-notice Garry, who is ahead of him in the rankings. Still, his claim to a title shot is, at least, better than Michael Morales'.
Like Prates, Morales is a fearsome power-puncher, and he is ranked in the top three, exactly at #3. Unfortunately, his body of work in the UFC thus far leaves a lot to be desired. Outside of a first-round TKO of the #6 ranked Sean Brady at UFC 322, he has zero wins over anyone who is currently ranked in the division, and the mystique of his unbeaten 19-0 record does not hold up to scrutiny. Yet, even he is in a better position than Brady, who is 19-2 and only recently rebounded from his loss to Morales by dominating Joaquin Buckley at UFC 328 via unanimous decision. Though there's still another claimant who looms over the welterweight title scene.
That man is Kamaru Usman. While 'The Nigerian Nightmare' is one of the greatest welterweights of all time, and a former champion himself, with five title defenses to his name, he's close to the bottom of the top 10 at #8, highly inactive, and has a single win, a unanimous decision over Buckley at UFC on ESPN 69, since being on a three-fight losing streak. His argument is the weakest and he'll need, at least, one more win to make a serious claim.
Nevertheless, the UFC has previously shown its willingness to hand out title shots for reasons beyond merit, but in a just world, no one besides Garry should face Makhachev for the title next.
