Islam Makhachev pokes fun at fellow lightweight contenders following “radio silence” after callouts

Emerging title contender Islam Makhachev poked fun at his fellow lightweight contenders following their “radio silence” after his callouts.

Makhachev defeated Thiago Moises via fourth-round submission in the main event of UFC Vegas 31 this past Saturday night to pick up his eighth straight win in the Octagon. With a 9-1 record now in the UFC, Makhachev has cemented himself as one of the elite lightweights in the sport. However, since he’s ranked No. 9 in the division, he needs to start fighting the fighters ranked higher than him if he wants to get a title shot. Some of those potential opponents include the likes of Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and Rafael dos Anjos, all of who Makhachev called out following his big win over Moises on Saturday.

Taking to his social media the day after his big win over Moises, Makhachev poked fun at his fellow lightweight rivals for supposedly ignoring his callout. According to Makhachev, he thinks his divisional foes are holding out hope they get to fight Conor McGregor instead.

Radio silence😀 @RdosAnjosMMA @TonyFergusonXT @MikeChandlerMMA I bet they all waiting for smashed mcgregor return now 🤷🏼‍♂️

— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) July 19, 2021

Radio silence @RdosAnjosMMA @TonyFergusonXT @MikeChandlerMMA I bet they all waiting for smashed mcgregor return now

It will be interesting to see who the UFC matches up Makhachev with next. All three of Chandler, Ferguson, and dos Anjos make sense as potential opponents as all three men are ranked above him in the division and would all represent logical steps up in competition. Of course, Chandler and Ferguson are coming off of losses in their last fights against Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush, respectively, so with dos Anjos coming off of a win over Paul Felder perhaps he makes more sense as Makhachev’s next opponent just because both have more momentum coming into this fight than the others do.

Who do you want to see Islam Makhachev fight next in the UFC?