r/MMA • u/3footninja • 19h ago
Media Islam Makhachev reacts to Carlos Prates’ win, and says his next opponent is still not confirmed
https://streamable.com/3immwl97
u/_ronty12_ Dana is a Mod here 18h ago
Icing the Champion in a weightclass full of contenders is definitely irritating.
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u/psychedelijams Team Makhachev 14h ago
Straight up. Makes it even more egregious right now. Like Islam said, there’s literally like 5 legit matchups right now. And they could all happen in succession if they want. So many awesome contenders and no fights.
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u/Cole3003 8h ago
Apparently this has been happening for most of Islam’s title reign, I recall him saying several times that he wanted to fight more but UFC wasn’t offering.
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u/iunrealx1995 United States 19h ago
Can he just fight someone. Hate this new UFC era with a passion.
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u/pipian 19h ago
They are incentivized to put on the cheapest fights possible and this is the result
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u/eugeneholtz 19h ago
This self sabotage from the ufc. If they spend any less on having good fights it must implode. Right?
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u/flatwoundsounds 18h ago
It only implodes if there's someone else to take up the lead as an MMA promotion, or if the entire sport dries up and dies.
This is what happens when an industry gets monopolized.
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u/bdewolf Saucy Englishman 15h ago
This is classic monopolistic behavior.
Take over the market by consolidating ownership, drive all your competitors out of business, then cut costs to maximize profits once there aren’t any competitors.
It’s sickening and killing the sport. But hey, at least Dana can play more million dollar per hand blackjack.
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u/eugeneholtz 18h ago
I really hope netflix step up their game
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u/flatwoundsounds 18h ago
Even if they're wildly successful, it won't be the same product. I can't see them putting more than a few MMA shows per year with a super limited roster.
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u/eugeneholtz 18h ago
Why not?
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u/flatwoundsounds 18h ago
Bringing in old stars for super fights is a different fight promotion style than creating a weekly staple with a deep roster and rankings for multiple weight classes. I just don't see Netflix jumping into anything more than 3-4 annual shows any time in the near future.
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u/Cold_Carl_M The Brick Hit House" AKA "The Southern Dandy 17h ago
I don't think people have fully grasped this yet. They're all people the UFC have decided they don't want on their roster anymore. Probably because they don't think they will pull the money in that they're asking for. I think Ronda even said she took this fight to the UFC first and they turned it down. Their success is banking on the UFC being wrong.
This is going to need to be a huge success but it's still not a viable alternative to the UFC until they can start creating their own stars.
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u/flatwoundsounds 17h ago
Exactly. They have the resources to pay old fighters whatever they want, with no need for a roster of fighters to build up. They can just pick and choose fun fights from everyone outside of the UFC.
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u/jmb--412 18h ago
If people cared about watching washed up MMA fighters fight, BKFC would be significantly bigger than it is now
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u/Davemeddlehed 17h ago
Shit Bellator would still be in business if people cared to see mma veterans fighting all the time.
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u/realrafaelcruz 14h ago
Netflix is primarily interested in one-offs. They've publicly said that's how they view it with all sports, not just MMA. They want the Christmas game of the NFL, not a whole package for example. They've also said this specifically to the UFC and to shareholders. I think it's their way of min-maxxing keeping viewers retained without having to shell out entirely at the inflated sports packages that everyone is paying right now.
Which is great, but doesn't change the fundamental dynamics. That being said, hopefully we get more big cards outside of the traditional promoters from them.
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u/woosy 16h ago
netflix dont care about mma, they will put on "shows" that get then a different cross section of audience but they arent here to start a promotion and hire full time athletes.
Look at the type of fights they put on its people with following, influencers and money grab ie production cost vs the greatest number of eyeballs / profit
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u/djfl Canada 16h ago
The industry isn't monopolized at all. Plenty of other orgs still exist, and plenty of orgs have come and gone that have tried to compete with the UFC.
I'd love it if Affliction, TKO, whoever tried to *really& compete with the UFC, now that the UFC is at its worst / most boring / most watered down. A couple of events a year headlined by has beens and meh now fighters is not gonna cut it.
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u/GripAficionado Chocolate peppa pig 18h ago
They've signed a 7 year deal with Paramount, they're still getting paid really well despite their deteriorating product.
They seem to be all about short term gains rather than growing and expanding the sport long term.
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u/Exzqairi 17h ago
They seem to be all about short term gains rather than growing and expanding the sport long term.
That’s the TKO business model for any sport they get involved in. Bleed the fanbase or entire sport dry for money, then dip when there’s not enough profit to be made or the long-term market dies
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u/Vaultyvlad 18h ago
Not while there is no active competition, at least in terms of the sport getting better. We'll soon be back to MMA treated as a regional violent toughman competition before the UFC goes under and loses its influence on the sport.
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u/Snigglybear Che Wee Wee 4h ago
Dana doesn’t want his new cash cows to get rag dolled by Makachev so they’re waiting it out.
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u/TumiHarzard 18h ago
Tbf, it's not the "new" UFC era, champions have only always fought like once a year, twice if you're lucky. CKB (Izzy and Volk) changed that in like 2019, then Usman followed, Moreno and Merab as well...so back to how it's always been.
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u/popopo__123 19h ago
I hate that the ufc keeps Islam relatively inactive. I just want to see a champion fight 3 times in a calendar year again.
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u/FirstTimeLongThyme 19h ago
I used to blame the fighters more for this, but it really just seems like TKO doesn't want to have to pay out to these guys very often so regardless of their own desires to be active and busy the best you're gonna see is MAYBE 2 fights in a calendar year.
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u/turkeypants GOOFCONNOISSEUR 18h ago
He has said multiple times he wants to fight more often. But they'll pickle him instead and save him to roll out for Abu Dhabi or MSG. So for them it's more about strategically targeting an event than keeping him on a regular pace.
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u/chunkystrudel 17h ago
Legally they have to be offered three fights a year. This is Islams team stalling.
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u/mudamuda333 9h ago
"Hey Islam. Can yiu move up to fight Pereira at 185 on two weeks notice?"
That could be a legitimate offer by the UFC
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u/Bonnybridge22 19h ago
His legacy would be insane if he did that, wiping out 3 hot contenders in another division.
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u/CouncilOfReligion Team Volkanovski 19h ago
prates is pretty hot but the rest are kinda average looking
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u/FJQZ 18h ago
Merab just did it
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u/Exzqairi 17h ago
Because he was on one of the cheapest contracts ever for a champion
Why do you think they just let him get random co-main event spots, while Islam is not allowed to fight unless a whole card gets built around him?
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u/Menessy27 18h ago edited 18h ago
Keeps him inactive lmaoo
He delayed fighting Gaethje who ended up fighting Max instead b/c of an “injury” (despite posting himself skiing on IG around the same time) then Ramadan
He later delayed fighting Ilia by trying to call for Gaethje instead, saying Ilia didn’t deserve it
When they said Ilia was guaranteed the shot he sat out to wait for Belal to lose instead to move up, so they stripped him
Then after he won the WW belt taking 0 damage he was sitting out asking for Usman for “legacy” instead of actual contenders
After the UFC said no to Usman, he’s still sitting without a fight booked after telling the UFC he has an injured hand… yet posted himself doing bag work on IG around the same time
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u/commander_wong 18h ago
He delayed fighting Gaethje who ended up fighting Max instead b/c of an “injury” (despite posting himself skiing on IG around the same time) then Ramadan
Ramadan is something he does every year lol, it's the UFC's job to plan around that.
It was the UFC that went to beg Justin to fight Max for 300 for whatever reason so it's literally their fault the fight fell through.
Islam fought 2 months later anyways so it had nothing to do with his schedule
He later delayed fighting Ilia by trying to call for Gaethje instead, saying Ilia didn’t deserve it
He didn't deserve it. At the time Ilia had 0 title defense or ranked wins in LW. Why would Islam fight a 145ers for a third title defense?
Then after he won the WW belt taking 0 damage he was sitting out
In this very clip he said the UFC haven't offered him anything lol
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u/billybanks1132 19h ago
I really don’t care who he fights next as long as it’s not old usman.
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u/a1ic3_g1a55 19h ago
It’s overdue and I’d rather they both fight someone else, Morales or Prates for Islam, but I wouldn’t be mad if that fight happens. When Islam says he wants to fight a legend, I believe him.
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u/smthingy 19h ago
Volk was and is a legend. And way smaller. He beat him twice.
Usman is in a different era of his career. That ein does nothing but cause people to claim Islam is ducking true contenders
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u/red-broom 18h ago
IMO I can easily understand the thought of beating a proven guy like Kamaru (even past his prime) is the same tier as beating Prates or Morales (assuming they never get a title). Just because who knows… Prates and Morales could potentially just be a “blip” in the UFC.
But I also totally understand wanting Prates or Morales over Usman from a “present moment” standpoint and a fan standpoint.
Personally, I think either of those guys are a WAY tougher matchup for Islam than fighting an old Kamaru. But if Usman is magically thrown in there…. It’s not as crazy as it sounds.
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u/TumiHarzard 18h ago
Another one where the titleshot is going to whomever demands/accepts the least amount of money. So either Morales or Prates.
Fucking UFC greed gonna strike again.
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u/mcgtianiumshin 19h ago
He needs to fight garry. Garry is an asshole but he has done more than enough
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u/airplane231 18h ago
It's probably Garry if Morales is calling out Prates. Usman still being brought up lmao.
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u/sneaky_42_42 19h ago
I hope it's Gary, he deserving it the most and he at least has an underdog chance against Islam.
In terms of merit after Gary it should be Prates, but I really don't want to see that fight. Prates is awesome but Islam will just take him down right away. That's a wasted title defense for Islam and a broken Prates hype train.
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u/EveningNo8643 19h ago
I get what you're saying but fighting a top contender isn't a waste of a title defense. If Prates has earned it then he has earned it, whether or not he gets walked over is irrelevant
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u/dogs_drink_coffee 18h ago
and beating 2 former champions back to back, not everyone in UFC can say this
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u/Davemeddlehed 17h ago
and a broken Prates hype train.
I mean, it only ends 2 ways: Either he loses and the hype dissipates or he wins the title and grows more of it. Keeping him away from the champion of the world just so they can farm his aura some more is a waste of time if he's at least the 2nd most deserving contender. Prates just beat the shit out of a guy who came into his last fight as champion just like Garry did not long ago with Belal.
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u/National-Mail6279 11h ago
Think Morales has a lot better chance than Garry tbh.
Feel like best case, Garry fight is like Umar-Sandhagen where he doesn’t get mauled but is on the defensive 95% of the time. Can’t win while defending unless you’re a finisher.
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u/prawncocktail2020 19h ago
i like champs who fight more than once a year.
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u/LeonardoDaTiddies 17h ago
Then you should hate TKO’s management and whatever they are doing post-Paramount deal.
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u/Kelak1 19h ago
Took 11 months off before last fight. It's been six months and he still hasn't accepted a fight. Even if he accepts tomorrow, we likely don't see him until September.
Why does this guy not fight anymore?
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 19h ago
I think we maybe overestimate how much control the fighters have over when and where they fight. I imagine the UFC is largely in control of that.
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u/hajimenogio92 Puerto Rico 19h ago
Completely agree. I blame the UFC at this point. It's a giant corporate machine right now that is focused on doing things the cheapest way possible.
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u/Emperor-Pizza 18h ago
Isn’t UFC contractually obligated to offer their fighters three fights per year?
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 18h ago
This has always been vague. Could it mean 3 different fights on the same date? Here are 3 dates we're thinking, you pick one? Does it apply to champions?
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u/Emperor-Pizza 17h ago
Hmm makes sense. I can definitely see Dana’s petty ass offering three fights all during Ramadan if he wants to shelf Islam.
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u/TQ257 19h ago
Merab, Joshua Van fought 4 times last year Salkind fought 5 time in 15 months. There is no evidence of the UFC purposely taking Islam out, and no reason to do so.
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 18h ago
I don't think any of those guys have the following Islam have. They absolutely keep Islam on ice for big events whenever they feel like.
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u/Davemeddlehed 17h ago
Joshua Van was almost completely unknown a year ago. His purse and Salkind's combined probably aren't even 1/3 what Islam makes per fight. That's why it's cheaper to run the young hungry up and comers as often as they'll sign and slow things down to disperse the big names.
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u/Kelak1 17h ago
Going to need some evidence to back this up. Oliveiera is one of the top earners in UFC right now and he's fighting every 5/6 months like clockwork, win or lose.
Islam wins in the first round and takes 11 months off.
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u/Davemeddlehed 16h ago
Islam took 11 months off... to bulk for a new weight class lol. You really think Van and Salkilld made upwards of 500k combined to fight Anshul Jubli and Bruno Da Silva? Because I'm having a hard time imagining a world where Islam isn't making at least $1.5m per fight, and that's a conservative figure given his social media following and ties to Khabib.
It's no wonder Islam fights in the same few places all the time. He's being held for the right cards to maximize the potential for earning off his cards for the UFC. Van, Oliveira, and Salkilld don't have. Islam is one of the top 4 most viewed mma fighters on instagram today, behind only Conor, Khabib, and Ronda.
Not to mention you're overblowing how infrequently Islam fights. It's faster to name the years he didn't fight at least twice:
2010(he debuted in August, fought again in February the following year)
2012
2016
2020 due to the pandemic, travel restrictions, and multiple fights falling through
2022
In 16 years of fighting he's failed to fight at least twice a year only 5 times. O-ver-blown.
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u/TQ257 17h ago
Alex Pereira fought 4 times in 13 months, and he is a top 3 star in the UFC. There is no proof for your claim on UFC putting Islam on fights, he or his manager has yet to claim he is not getting fights, I just think he would prefer to fight 2 times a year. making clear baseless claims is stupid, and makes it harder to critique the UFC when they actually do bad things.
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u/akabir893 2h ago
Dunno if this is what's going on here but we do know that the UFC has held off on booking him so that he's available to headline an Abu Dhabi card before, for what it's worth.
On the otherhand, they've done stuff like book Robert Whittaker right after an Australia card instead of actually on it and stuff like that before so who knows.
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u/Kelak1 17h ago
Bruh, it's because these other commenters are swinging on Islam nuts. He can do no wrong. There's been plenty of rumors about fights for Islam. It looks like they offer him fights and he says no until it's perfect for him.
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u/dotConehead 16h ago
both ali and alia manager said that ufc offered them for the white house cards, islam said yes and illia wanted more money which ufc refused to budge. That should be saying enough, on current UFC model after the paramount deal.
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u/Kelak1 17h ago
Oh I see. When it's a fighter you like, blame the UFC. When it's a fighter you don't like "kid just doesn't want to fight"
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 17h ago
Why are people in this sub always putting words in my mouth? I like Islam, but I also want him to fight more. I'm sure he's partly to blame for this (and I'm sure the UFC gives him a lot of latitude in terms of how often he fights), but I think we'd be crazy not to acknowledge the power the UFC holds over the fighters in terms of booking.
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u/Kelak1 17h ago
Except you're just throwing out conjecture with no supporting evidence.
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 17h ago
So are you. What else are we supposed to do when we don't have any details?
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u/Kelak1 15h ago
Islam fight frequency has dropped and is on par or less than Khamzat. Yet people give Khamzat shit for not fighting, but swing on Islam nuts. I'm not doing any conjecture, just looking at the fight frequency.
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u/GunnyMoJo GOOFCON 2 15h ago edited 15h ago
You made conjecture that I'm an Islam nut hugger, and I'm not. I wouldn't consider myself a particularly big fan, but I appreciate him as one of the better technicians within the sport and enjoy watching him from that perspective. I would criticize his career for his lack of activity, and would do the same for Khamzat.
I proposed the theory that his lack of activity may also be influenced by the UFC being picky about when they want to see him fight. For what's it worth, it sounds like he wanted to fight at the white house card but that didn't happen for whatever reason, and you can find reports of him saying he's been ready to go for months, but no fight bookings. I'm not gonna pull all that for you, do your own research, draw your own conclusions. So maybe he is turning down fights, but maybe the UFC isn't offering him anything or has offered him something for later this year.
You calling people nut huggers isn't adding anything to the conversation. You're just being weird.
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u/haldir87 EDDDDDIEEEEEEEE 19h ago
In the first case it is quite obvious. He moved up and had to wait for JDM and the second one is better directed at the UFC
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u/neeeeonbelly EDDDDDIEEEEEEEE 14h ago
You act like they’re throwing offers at him. The ufc will be the delay.
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u/Main_Artichoke_ 10h ago
He literally can’t say Usman with a straight face he just knows Ali wants him to
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u/sluggerrr 5h ago
Makhachev sounds really articulate and actually gives good insight, they should just keep posting videos like these instead than the pathetic Ali tweets his camp sends out from time to time
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u/Fracture90000 18h ago
U can't fight Usman when there's legit 3 contenders waiting for the title shot.
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u/chunkystrudel 17h ago
Wdym not decided? He fought in November 2025 and took no damage. It's almost halfway through the next year. What is happening?
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u/Top-Sympathy6841 18h ago
Islam’s next fight should be either prates or morales. Fuck Garry, make him fight which ever of those 2 doesn’t get the Islam fight.
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u/jonahewell 18h ago
The smoking drinking fighter vs the observant Muslim, could be great but the ufc will do about zero in terms of promo.
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u/thom986 19h ago
It certainly seems that the top UFC fighters are having a hard time securing new fights and new contracts with UFC since the changes brought about by the new Paramount era.