UFC champion Islam Makhachev slams Twitter owner Elon Musk over removal of blue tick verification

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has joined the list of people who have complaints about the owner of Twitter and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk. Makhachev put out a tweet asking the billionaire tech entrepreneur why his blue tick was removed:

"Elon Musk, you cheap guy. Where is my blue tick?"

The tweet from Makhachev triggered some hilarious reactions from fans, with a user named 'Unhinged Intern' posting the following reply:

"The refs are holding it for when you can finish someone."

Check out some other reactions to Islam Makhachev's tweet to Elon Musk:

Prior to Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, the blue tick was a way of verifying prominent accounts of public interest, based on certain criteria. When the SpaceX CEO took over the social media company, he announced that it would remove blue ticks from accounts that didn't have a subscription to the platform.

Essentially, members would have to pay $8 as a website fee ($11 for iOS users) to get a blue tick verification on their accounts. Initially, the outcome backfired on the billionaire businessman, as many fake accounts bearing his name got a blue tick verification, with several of those accounts posting fake news or trolling Elon Musk.

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When is Islam Makhachev fighting next?

Currently, the lightweight division is experiencing a lot of activity. No.1-ranked Charles Oliveira is taking on No.4-ranked Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. No.2-ranked Dustin Poirier is fighting No.3-ranked Justin Gaethje at UFC 291.

Even Michael Chandler has been booked to fight Conor McGregor, although no date has been confirmed for their bout. Everyone ranked in the top five has some event on the horizon but the champion of the division, Islam Makhachev, does not.

Islam Makhachev defended his title against the featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. The Australian fighter gave Makhachev arguably his toughest test to date. The bout was so close that Volkanovski retained his No.1-position on the pound-for-pound rankings at the time, despite Makhachev beating him.

Many fans, and Dana White himself, expressed an interest in seeing a rematch sometime in the future. However, since Volkanovski's brief absence from the 145-pound weight class caused the creation of an interim title, he will attempt to unify the title at UFC 290.

Following the UFC 284 fight with 'The Great', allegations of Makhachev using an IV arose, with Dan Hooker first pointing the finger. Makhachev replied to Hooker saying that he must be held accountable for false accusations. He also appeared in an interview with Red Corner MMA, saying that neither the UFC nor USADA has accused him of cheating.

Makhachev has since been relatively quiet with no word of the date of his next fight. It is very likely that the winner of Oliveira vs. Dariush will get the next title shot against Islam Makhachev.