UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev shared his dream fight inside the Octagon following his dominant win over Drew Dober at UFC 259.
Makhachev dominated Dober with his grappling skills on the UFC 259 pay-per-view card, controlling Dober on the mat until finding a submission in the third round with the arm-triangle choke. It was the seven straight win for Makhachev, who improved to 8-1 overall in the UFC with the victory. By beating a respected veteran such as Dober in the fashion that he did, Makhachev likely earned himself a step up in competition against someone in the top-10 of the stacked UFC lightweight division. He even has a name in mind.
Speaking to the media following UFC 259, Makhachev requested that he would like to fight Tony Ferguson next. Ferguson is coming off of back-to-back losses to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, but he remains one of the best lightweights in the UFC. With Makhachev looking for a step up in competition, he called out “El Cucuy” (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti).
Islam Makhachev: "My dream fight is Tony Ferguson. That’s my dream fight. I just want to make him retire. He talks too much. Khabib is retired, now he keeps pressuring him, for what? I’m here, I have a 7-fight win streak, make this happen." #UFC259
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) March 7, 2021
Islam Makhachev: “My dream fight is Tony Ferguson. That’s my dream fight. I just want to make him retire. He talks too much. Khabib is retired, now he keeps pressuring him, for what? I’m here, I have a 7-fight win streak, make this happen.” #UFC259
Makhachev is managed by Ali Abdelaziz, the same manager of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of Makhachev’s best friends in the sport. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that Makhachev called out Ferguson considering who his manager is. It’s also a fight that makes a lot of sense for both fighters based on the rankings. After losing two straight fights, Ferguson will likely fight someone in the lower half of the top-10, while Makhachev deserves someone in the top-10, so this could be the right matchup for both.
Do you want to see Islam Makhachev fight Tony Ferguson?