UFC 313 witnessed some of the most entertaining finishes and the lightweight bout between Mauricio Ruffy and King Green was the one that was deemed worthy of being nominated for the Knockout of the Year. ‘One Shot’ dropped Green with a wheel kick in the very first round. Not only did Ruffy receive immense praise, but he also got a bit more confidence in his skills. Well, the confidence was enough for him to put Islam Makhavhev in his crosshairs.
Ruffy does have a phenomenal professional MMA record. Out of the 12 wins, he has won 11 via KO/TKO and lost only one fight in his career. And with that, during his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ruffy said, “Islam, I’m on my path towards you. I am on my way to becoming champion.” Needless to say, becoming a champion is something that the entire fighting-verse dreams of. It’s the one throne that cements the fighters’ legacy in the promotion. And like many others, ‘One Shot’ had set his eyes on the current lightweight champion a long time ago.
Back when the Brazilian star defeated Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 301 with a flying knee in the first round, he cast his gaze on the Dagestani champion. During the post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, Ruffy said, “I have a message for Islam Makhachev, a nice message: Hey, enjoy your days at the top. I know you’re upset because I beat your friend, but enjoy your days because a new king is coming.”
Of course, Islam Makhachev wasn’t the only one that the Brazilian lightweight had in mind. After his UFC 313 victory, he announced that he was interested in fighting Beneil Dariush next. But it was his aim at taking on Makhachev that had the entire fighting community in attention. As soon as his words found their way to Instagram (via @verdictmma), the fight fans took over the comments section and revealed their thoughts. And the one concern that they had was Makhachev nearing his retirement.
Fight fans predict Islam Makhachev’s retirement as Mauricio Ruffy takes aim at the champ
Earlier in December 2024, Javier Mendez hinted at Makhachev’s retirement. With talks of Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria going wild in the fighting realm, the coach declared that the Dagestani wasn’t really interested in fighting the Spaniard. And the reason? He was probably planning to retire at the age of 35. Makhachev is 33 already. With the current trends, we might get to see him fight just twice more before arguably retiring. One fan reflected on this and commented, “Islam will do two more fights and will say goodbye to MMA so I really don’t know about that , but good luck for you ruffy.” Another fan claimed, “By the time he gets there Islam will have retired already lol.” One more fan claimed that he’d have to fight Usman Nurmagomedov instead of Makhachev. The comment read, “Too late. If you continue winning you might face Usman.”
But there was yet another hurdle for the Brazilian. He direly needed to get to the top 5 position in the lightweight athlete rankings. Only then, might he get a title shot against Makhachev. And the fight fans knew it pretty well. One fan wrote, ‘U have to get through top 5 before Islam a tough job.” But by the time Ruffy actually reaches the top 5 spot, the Dagestani champ might have already retired. A fan pointed this out and quoted, “By the time you get to the top 5, Islam gonna be retired bro.”
On the other hand, some fans believed that there was no way Ruffy could handle someone like Makhachev. After all, he has yet to prove himself against a good grapple in the Octagon. One of the fans commented, “Ruffy you’re the goat bro I fw you heavily but you cannot grapple with Islam ur cooked my boy.” Another fan added, “Ruffy needs a competitor that specializes in grappling before we even take him seriously about fighting Islam for the belt.”
What are your thoughts on the matchup between Makhachev and Ruffy? Do you think the duo actually have a chance to fight each other? Or will Makhachev retire even before Ruffy gets to the top 5 in the lightweight rankings? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post UFC Fans Convinced of Islam Makhachev’s Retirement as Mauricio Ruffy’s Call-Out Takes an Unexpected Turn appeared first on EssentiallySports.
