Islam Makhachev wants to take his time, and Kamaru Usman thinks he’s earned it. I agree with Usman. My one condition is that the waiting has to end the minute Carlos Prates and Michael Morales finish their business at UFC 336.
Usman, who knows something about sitting on a throne while the line of challengers forms outside, came out in support of Makhachev pacing his returns and picking his spots. Sportskeeda ran his take under the headline quote “I think these guys are well on the way,” which tells you how Usman sees the two names Makhachev keeps getting asked about. He gives Prates and Morales full credit as contenders, and his point is that they’re still building their resumes, so Makhachev doesn’t have to sprint to meet them before they’re done. NDTV Sports framed Usman’s endorsement around two words, “Phenomenal Matchup,” and MMA Sucka reported that Usman is fully behind Prates vs. Morales at UFC 336.
That’s the correct read. Let the contenders fight each other first, and let the winner walk out with a real argument. A social media campaign doesn’t count.
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Makhachev Called His Shot
What makes this easier to defend is that Makhachev didn’t hide behind some vague statement from his team. He went on X and said it plainly.
“My next fight is one of the last in my career. They say Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me. So I want to face the best of them and prove to the world once again who is the best in world.”
I love that. He took the two loudest knocks against him, that Prates is too dangerous and Morales is too good, and turned them into his reason to wait for whichever guy comes out on top. A champion who ducks doesn’t name the guys he’s supposedly ducking. Makhachev named both of them and asked for the better one.
He’s also not talking like a man trying to coast into retirement. At the UFC 330 press conference, he said he won’t hang it up until he gets to 20 wins in a row, and he put a number on it with zero hedging: “17 is not gonna be enough, I will be sure nobody will break my record. It’s going to be 20, MINIMUM.”
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So yes, there’s some fun math happening here. Calling his next fight one of the last of his career while also promising at least 20 straight doesn’t exactly line up like a spreadsheet. But both statements point the same way. Makhachev wants the biggest available names, and he wants enough of them to put the record out of reach. A guy chasing 20 straight needs opponents with real resumes, which is exactly why Usman’s patience argument holds up.
The Backlash Was Silly
Joshua Van saw the heat Makhachev was catching and said what a lot of fighters were probably thinking: “The guy has done everything he needs in the sport. What’s even the point of fighting anymore.” Van also pointed out how fast people flipped, going from calling Makhachev the GOAT after he beat Ian Garry to tearing into him over his schedule.
That whiplash is ridiculous. Fans spent years complaining that champions get fed hand-picked opponents. Now the champion says he wants the winner of the scariest contender fight available, and he’s getting roasted for not fighting sooner? Pick a lane.
Here’s My Worry, and It’s 220 Pounds
All of this patience only works if UFC 336 actually happens the way it’s drawn up. Championship Rounds, citing Morales himself, reported that Morales currently weighs 220 lbs and has three months to get down to 170 for Prates.
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That’s 50 pounds. In three months. Morales is a big welterweight and walking around heavy between camps is normal for guys his size, but 220 is a number that makes matchmakers chew their pens. On top of that, Dovy noted on X that Morales hasn’t fought at all in 2026. A long layoff plus a massive cut is exactly the combination that produces a scratched fight on Thursday of fight week, and if this one falls apart, Makhachev’s whole plan of letting the contenders settle it first stalls with it.
So here’s where I land. Usman is right that Makhachev has earned the right to set his own pace. Makhachev is right to want the winner instead of whoever’s free that month. Prates and Morales are right there, and Usman thinks they’re well on the way. The one piece of this that nobody controls with a quote is a scale.
If Morales makes 170 and that fight delivers, the UFC should book the winner against Makhachev before anyone has time to start a new round of ducking discourse. If Morales misses or the fight falls out, Makhachev’s patience stops looking like strategy and starts looking like a calendar with nothing on it. The first thing to watch is Morales stepping on the scale at UFC 336.
