Islam Makhachev’s manager reveals his UFC title defence timeline

Islam Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, has revealed the timeline for the Dagestani fighter’s first UFC welterweight defence.

News emerged in March that Islam had suffered a hand injury, which might delay his return, but now, most recently, the Russian uploaded a video while training, giving his fans a hint that he has recovered from the injury.

During an interview with TMZ Sports, Abdelaziz has now confirmed that the former lightweight champion will return to the Octagon in July against a top welterweight contender, with an official announcement coming soon.

“Islam got offered a different fight at welterweight to be the main event, and Islam said, Hey, let’s do this in July due to a hand injury,” Abdelaziz said.

Recently, Ilia Topuria claimed that Islam Makhachev had ducked a fight against him at the UFC White House event, but Abdelaziz has denied the rumours, saying his client would have accepted the challenge even on one leg.

“If this Ilia fight was offered in June, Islam would accept even if he has one leg. But Islam already has a fight in the summer against the No.1 contender; it’s a done deal, and the UFC will announce it very soon,” he added.

“I was called about Ilia to fight Islam. It was the middle of the day, Islam was sleeping, and I was excited about the fight. After that, I got called back saying never mind, this fight is not gonna happen, before I even talked with Islam.”

Islam became the two-division champion after dominating Jack Della Maddalena during a unanimous decision victory at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York.