Islam Makhachev UFC return date confirmed as Dana White denies claim

Dana White has said Islam Makhachev will make his UFC return this summer.

Makhachev hasn’t fought since November, when he became a two-division champion by dethroning Jack Della Maddalena to claim welterweight gold.

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The former lightweight king was then approached to face Ilia Topuria in a super-fight on the UFC White House card.

However, a hand injury reportedly prevented negotiations from coming to fruition, with Topuria now defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in the main event of the historic show.

Makhachev set for August return – likely UFC 331

After months of talk about his return, Makhachev’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz told TMZ this week that the Russian had signed a deal to fight in July.

Abdelaziz said the fight was against a No. 1 contender in the welterweight division, with the UFC set to announce the next championship fight at 170lbs it soon.

Although he didn’t deny Abdelaziz’s comments about Makhachev signing a comeback fight, UFC CEO White has made it clear that the welterweight champion will actually return in August.

Responding to an Instagram post on Abdelaziz’s words, White wrote: “Not true… It’s August.”

White was asked about Makhachev at UFC London this month.

“Islam’s coming back from a hand injury,” White told assembled media, including talkSPORT.com.

“As soon as he’s ready, we’ll figure out what’s next for him.”

Well, things seemed to have been figured out quickly, and Makhachev looks set to begin his training camp for an August return, likely in the main event of UFC 331.

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Should he come out victorious and Topuria defends his belt against Gaethje, the UFC brass may try to put together the champion vs champion clash once again.

Abdelaziz claims he never even got to the stage of taking a potential fight against Topuria to Makhachev.

He admitted receiving a phone call from the UFC, but was told the fight wasn’t going to happen before discussing it with the Russian.

Abdelaziz also says Topuria would’ve vacated the lightweight title if the fight had been booked, with Gaethje facing Arman Tsarukyan instead.

Despite admitting full respect for Topuria, Abdelaziz added that the only reason Topuria is on the White House card, known as UFC Freedom 250, is because of Gaethje.

Makhachev, meanwhile, was recorded hitting a heavy bag in fresh training footage this week.

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It was seemingly a message to his peers to say his hand is more than recovered and he’s raring to go.

Who is Makhachev going to fight?

Realistically, there are two options for Makhachev to make his first UFC welterweight title defence.

With Della Maddalena and Carlos Prates booked to face each other in Australia in May, Ian Machado Garry and Michael Morales are the highest-ranked welterweight stars without fights.

Ireland’s Garry has been calling for the Makhachev fight to no avail ever since the latter’s win over ‘JDM’ at UFC 322.

“Hand injury or time wasting?” Garry wrote in response to Makhachev’s training footage.

Garry cemented his place at the top of the welterweight rankings by defeating former champion Belal Muhammad in Qatar last time out.

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Morales, on the other hand, leapfrogged Sean Brady by stopping the American in one round on the undercard of Makhachev’s win over Della Maddalena.

The 26-year-old is undefeated in 19 professional MMA fights, having made his UFC debut in January 2022.

However, both men may miss out on the title shot, with former UFC men’s No.1 pound-for-pound star Kamaru Usman a wild card in the mix.

Usman aired his frustrations in February over being offered a middleweight fight against Dricus du Plessis.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ believes a fight against Makhachev makes sense for all parties involved.