Islam Makhachev has close ties with the next combatant set to box Tyson Fury, and the combatant in question has touched on his relationship with the UFC champion. That fighter being referenced is Arslanbek Makhmudov, who will clash with ‘The Gypsy King’ Tyson Fury on Netflix on April 11th.
Referencing public photos of himself with the Dagestan star and when asked about the nature of his relationship with Makhachev, Arslanbek Makhmudov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“My friend very good. This Islam [Makhachev], very good guy. Mashallah, very good. Best example for young generation. That’s why I was, for me, very well-disciplined guy, you know. Like we’re from same or similar area, and of course we try to; I know you are very busy, but we try to contact each other, you know. I try to come to his fight, yes [laughs].”
Islam Makhachev blames Ilia Topuria for UFC Freedom 250 bout not getting booked
Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria have been bantering about why they did not get booked for a fight on the White House card, with the former firing a recent volley. Topuria’s manager has claimed that they indicated interest in a Makhachev fight after claiming the promotion reached out to the lightweight champion’s team regarding who they wanted to fight for June 14th.
Dana White has since come out to report that Makhachev was dealing with an injury, but Topuria described that as the Dagestan standout making excuses. The welterweight champion of the UFC refuted this claim online as Makhachev took to his personal X account and stated,
“We both know who chickened out here. You can cover your cowardice with nasty tweets, but don’t worry, one day you will get what you asked for! And your fat a** manager don’t have to ask for billions to fight me, we’ll do it for free.”