UFC legend shuts down talk of Islam Makhachev rooting against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315

At UFC 315 last weekend, UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev witnessed his friend, Belal Muhammad, lose his UFC welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena. Coming into the fight, the narrative was that if Muhammad retained his belt, Makhachev would stay at lightweight and defend his belt against Ilia Topuria, since he refuses to fight his friend.

However, since the welterweight division is no longer ruled by his teammate, Makhachev now has the greenlight to move up and challenge the new champion. In light of these developments, the lightweight throne has now been vacated and will be up for grabs between Topuria and former divisional king Charles Oliveira.

After Muhammad lost his title, there's been speculation that Islam Makhachev was rooting for his friend to lose, as it allows him to move up in weight. This speculation was suggested by UFC welterweight star Joaquin Buckley.

Check out Buckley's tweet here:

According to UFC Hall of Famer and Makhachev teammate Daniel Cormier, there is absolutely no truth to this. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier said:

"I don't think Makhachev was praying for Belal to lose. I know the guy and I don't think that's in him to want to see one of his friends lose for himself to gain an opportunity."

He then addressed Buckley's actions, saying:

What [Joaquin] Buckley is doing, from the trolling of Ian Garry, to now trying to target Islam Makhachev, is one of the only ways he's truly going to find his way into those big fights that he wants so desperately." [h/t- Red Corner MMA]

Listen to Daniel Cormier here:

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Islam Makhachev's team still sees him as the lightweight champion, despite officially relinquishing belt

Despite officially letting go of his 155-pound strap to move up to welterweight, Islam Makhachev and his team still believe that he's the king of the lightweights. According to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, the Dagestani wrestler will wear two belts if he wins the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Abdelaziz said:

"He [Makhachev] will have the two belt on top of his shoulder because he's still the lightweight champion. Listen, you have two guys fighting like, when Khabib [Nurmagomedov] retired as a lightweight champion, you understand, as pound-for-pound number one king. Islam is the pound-for-pound number one king. He never lost his title, you understand? You know, and you never know."

Abdelaziz also made it clear that Makhachev had no intention of moving up to 170 pounds as long as his friend Belal Muhammad was still the champion. He then said:

"I believe Islam will be the welterweight champion and he'll be a double champion."

Listen to Abdelaziz here (3:06 for the aforementioned comments):