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Islam Makhachev has officially vacated the UFC lightweight title and will move to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for his belt. With the 155-pound throne now empty, an ex-teammate of Makhachev's has shared a thought-provoking perspective on the lightweight division's landscape.
MMA legend Dustin Poirier, who faced Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 302, will compete in the final fight of his career at UFC 318 against Max Holloway. But according to Josh Thomson, a former training partner of the Dagestani, there is no better time than right now for Poirier to fulfill his dream of winning the UFC title.
'The Diamond' has laid claim to an interim lightweight belt, but candidly admitted that the label of "undisputed champion" ,his ultimate goal, painfully evaded him. With Poirier in the latter stage of his career, and having recently lost a title fight to Makhachev, he has no interest in pushing for one last run at the belt.
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The vacant lightweight title will be contested between Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 317. Given the current state of the UFC's 155-pound division, Thomson shared the following on X:
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"Does Dustin really retire if he beats Max and Ilia wins the title? Dustin now has the best chance to become champion."
Check out Islam Makhachev's ex-teammate discuss Dustin Poirier and Ilia Topuria below:
Islam Makhachev's manager blasts Charles Oliveira getting a title shot against Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria vacated his featherweight title in January and moved to 155 pounds in hopes of securing a mega-fight with Islam Makhachev.
However, Makhachev's double-champion aspirations saw him vacate his belt and move to welterweight, where he will likely challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the Australian's title.
Following the UFC 317 fight announcement, the former lightweight champion's manager Ali Abdelaziz took aim at Oliveira for receiving another title shot. His comments came during an interview with MMAJunkie, where he said:
"Charles Oliveira is 2-2 in his last four [fights]... Gaethje is 3-1 in his last four. Gaethje gave up his title shot, stepped in at [UFC 300] to fight Max Holloway. He knocked out Dustin Poirier. [Then] Dustin Poirier beats the number thirteen [ranked fighter] and gets a title shot. [During] Fight week, [Dan] Hooker gets injured. [Rafael] Fiziev shows up, we fight Fiziev for the second time. You tell me how is that? [Gaethje] is more deserving."
Check out Islam Makhachev's manager criticize Charles Oliveira below (11:05):
