Islam Makhachev could return to lightweight after his crack at welterweight gold, in line with considered one of his unbeaten gymmates.
Featherweight contender Movlid Khaybulaev takes on Tae Kyun Kim within the PFL World Tournament semi-finals tomorrow night in Nashville, putting his 22-0-1 record on the road in the method.
He’s a daily training partner of Makhachev under the tutelage of Khabib Nurmagomedov. And he has watched him prepare for a move as much as 170lb where the pound-for-pound primary will tackle newly-crowned champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Islam Makhachev’s move to welterweight may not be everlasting, says teammate
When Islam Makhachev made the move as much as 170lb, he was forced to provide up his lightweight title after a record-breaking reign. This allowed Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria to fight for the vacant belt in what shall be the major event of UFC 317.
Nonetheless, Khaybulaev believes that his days at 155lb usually are not numbered just yet. While he doesn’t view a rematch with Oliveira or one more featherweight champion in Topuria as interesting, he could return if the appropriate fight emerges.
“He said himself if he’s going to have an interesting fight at lightweight he’ll at all times come back,” Khaybulaev told Bloody Elbow ahead of tomorrow night’s PFL World Tournament semi-finals.
“It’s just that he feels straight away there’s no person recent left for him and he just desires to test himself which is why he’s going as much as welterweight.”
Islam Makhachev backed for achievement in move to welterweight
Before moving back down, though, Makhachev must complete his quest for a second belt. On the Nurmagomedov gym, the team trains indiscriminately of weight classes, which implies Khaybulaev has seen the lightweight great compete with welterweights at a high level already.
“I fully trust Islam’s experience and the way he feels himself going a weight up,” he explained. “We’ve got a bunch of individuals we train with at different weight classes. For instance, me. I train with Islam, who’s a light-weight and we’re totally different [Khaybulaev is a featherweight].
“But it surely also helps me to check myself to see physically where I stand with different opponents. I feel it would be the identical for him, and if he feels that he’s ready then meaning he probably is. He probably tested himself multiple times with the heavier guys.
