Daniel Cormier gave his take on the reports of Islam Makhachev potentially calling off his professional career after three more fights. According to Cormier, the possibility of another world champion retiring like Khabib Nurmagomedov in the past is ''worrisome'' for the MMA community.
Nurmagomedov was at the pinnacle of the sport when he announced his retirement in October 2020. Now it seems like Makhachev will now follow in the footsteps of his close friend and teammate.
For context, in a recent interview with Submission Radio, MMA coach Javier Mendez disclosed that the 33-year-old won't be around for much longer, hinting at his retirement after three more octagon outings which included the Dagestani solidifying his legacy by taking home the welterweight title.
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This caught the attention of Cormier, who shared his opinion in a video posted on his YouTube channel. The UFC Hall of Famer voiced his disappointment, saying:
''Islam Makhachev might have three fights, including Jack Della Maddalena. That right there is where our energy should be spent as Islam fans. How in the world does it feel like another dominant champion may be saying ‘It’s about time’?''
'DC' then highlighted Nurmagomedov's retirement decision:
''If Islam comes out and tells us ‘I’ve got three fights left’, we gotta lock in. We saw Khabib do it, and he never looked back. That should be worrisome to us as Mixed Martial Arts fans. We have so many more fights we want to see. We want to see him against Jack Della, we want to see him against Usman, and Ilia Topuria. It’s crazy!”
Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below:
Javier Mendez discusses Islam Makhachev's future
Islam Makhachev is expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight throne after he vacated his lightweight title last month after UFC 315.
In the aforementioned interview with Submission Radio, Javier Mendez offered his thoughts on Makhachev's future plans, which included potential matchups against Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Garry and Belal Muhammad.
''It depends what the UFC thinks. I think Shavkat needs to be considered. Also Ian Garry, Belal Muhammad, too, if he wants to be back in the picture. Who knows? This division, the welterweight division, has become the hotbed for the UFC at the present time, in my opinion. There’s so many marquee fights they can make from there. Let’s see what they want to do...but we need to get by JDM first. He’s not going to be an easy fight as it is.”
Check out Javier Mendez's comments below (1:35):