“The plan was for Islam to fight on March 9, but the UFC already had a headliner, Sean O’Malley,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “They said he was the main event and that it wouldn’t work. They offered to fight in February, but it was too soon for us.”
“Push back on what is. Islam will wait until Ramadan, or if we get a call from the UFC saying that O’Malley is out and they need Islam, maybe he can do March 9. Islam is always training, always in shape, he’s a true professional”
Although the challenger fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira has been officially announced, Makhachev prefers to fight Justin Gaethje, who is ranked number two in the division’s rankings.
“Islam is very interested in fighting him, but there’s a quote from him hanging in the UFC Institute and he has to follow what it says. He said it doesn’t matter who, when or where – I’ll fight anybody. In my opinion, I don’t know if it matters, Justin Gaethje deserves a title shot and Islam would love to fight him”
As a reminder, UFC 299 takes place on March 9 in Miami with the main event being a lightweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera, while Arman Tsarukian and Charles Oliveira will determine the next lightweight title challenger on April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.