Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena are likely to square off in a pound-for-pound fight.
Makhachev has dominated the lightweight division and looks set to jump 15 pounds to the welterweight division to face the champion, Della Maddalena.
Already, UFC stars have offered advice on how the Russian grappler should tackle a naturally bigger opponent, with Dustin Poirier suggesting takedowns are the key.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
But Maddalena has already warned Makhachev he is too small to even compete with him over the five-round championship distance.
Islam Makhachev looks ‘bigger’ than before ahead of rumoured Jack Della Maddalena fight, says Luke Rockhold
Former training partner and UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold provided his opinion on the fight in a recent interview.
Speaking to Helen Yee, he said: “That’s a tough fight, that’s a very tough fight. It is going to be interesting, those are my three fighters in the UFC right now Islam, (Ilia) Topuria, and JDM. JDM is fun to watch.”
“That’s going to be a great fight. He is no slouch at wrestling, but you have a guy that has wrestled his whole life and grappled his whole life versus JDM, who is secondary on that.”
Both fighters have trained together out of the American Kickboxing Academy as the former lightweight champion made his ascent to the top of the company.
On the weight itself, he is still unsure exactly how it will affect the 33-year-old but from what he’s seen, his days at lightweight might be over.
Rockhold said: “You never know, he is a bigger guy, we will see how Islam bulks up and how he looks, he looks a lot bigger than what I remember, I used to train with him forever, I mean he has definitely grown, and we will see how he carries the weight.”
The fight is yet to be announced, but rumours coming out of both camps suggest it will potentially take place on UFC 322.
Islam Makhachev says Ilia Topuria pound-for-pound #1 ranking is all ‘marketing’
A fighter in the former champion’s weight class whom he hasn’t faced yet is current 155 head honcho Ilia Topuria.
Topuria recently climbed to the number one position on the pound-for-pound list after retaining his title with a win over Charles Oliveira, knocking Makhachev off his perch.
But the Khabib Nurmagomedov-trained competitor doesn’t believe the organisation placed him there based on merit.
He said: “It’s marketing to hype up this fight. They’re doing the right thing. We will fight for 1st place.”
🚨 Islam Makhachev wants to fight Ilia Topuria for the top pound-for-pound spot
“It’s marketing to hype up this fight. They’re doing the right thing. We will fight for 1st place.” 😱 pic.twitter.com/yGOhIZyYdk
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) July 27, 2025
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The pair may never square off in the Octagon because of Islam’s move to welterweight, but if a deal could be agreed on, a non-title catchweight contest could settle their argument of who is the best.