Islam Makhachev passed on a Jan. 30 title defense against Carlos Prates, said Prates and Michael Morales both deserve a shot at him, and then told reporters Friday that he doesn’t see any new names out there to fight. Those three statements don’t sit comfortably together.
The original plan had Makhachev defending the UFC welterweight title against Prates at UFC 336. The champ said no. So the UFC did what the UFC does and booked Prates against Morales for an interim belt in the UFC 336 co-main event, according to MMA Junkie.
Makhachev’s stated reason is that he wants the two contenders to settle it between themselves and produce one “true, worthy contender.” He stuck to that line Friday while speaking with reporters in Uzbekistan.
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“It’s a good fight, and I think both of them deserve a title shot,” Makhachev said. “That’s why I would like to see which of them is more deserving. We’ll find out in January.”
Then came the retirement question. In that same five-minute session, Makhachev was asked how many fights he might have left. He has recently hinted that the end is close, and he didn’t back off it.
“There’s no number,” Makhachev said. “I am just reaching the finish line. There aren’t many things that could give me motivation in this sport. I’m at the finish line. I just want to fight the contenders, but I don’t see any new names.”
The problem is that the new names are right there on the UFC 336 poster. Prates (24-7 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has won three straight, most recently a TKO of former champion Jack Della Maddalena. Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is still unbeaten and coming off a knockout of Sean Brady. Makhachev himself said both deserve a title shot. It’s hard to call them fresh enough to earn one and too stale to motivate you in the same breath.
Prates has his own theory. As BJPenn.com relayed on X, the Brazilian believes Makhachev only takes fights under favorable circumstances, and he put that in the same bucket as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career. That’s a shot at the champ and his mentor at once, which is about as subtle as Prates gets.
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The retirement talk has a paper trail. Back in August 2025, Nurmagomedov said his star pupil would fight for only one to two more years. On Friday Makhachev added another voice to the decision.
“My mother has always been against me fighting,” Makhachev said. “I’ve always listened to my mother, so soon I will obey her word.”
My take: I’ll give Makhachev this much, he answered every question put to him. The answers just point in opposite directions. If you’re at the finish line and you want contenders, Prates was the contender, and Jan. 30 was the date. Instead we get an interim belt at 170 pounds while the actual champion is healthy and doing press in Uzbekistan, which is exactly the kind of placeholder hardware I’d happily melt down. Prates and Morales on Jan. 30 is a great fight on its own merits. The winner walks out with a belt that says interim on it and a champion who may be taking orders from his mom.
