The latest word out of Islam Makhachev’s camp is that the former lightweight star only intends to have three more fights before he retires, including his upcoming welterweight title challenge against Jack Della Maddalena.
“Javier Mendez also said that that Islam Makhachev might have three fights, including Jack Della Maddalena. That, right there, is where our energy should be spent as Islam fans,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.
“How in the world does it feel like another dominant champion may be saying it’s about time? Why? He’s young. He’s the world champ. He’s dominating. He’s getting the opportunity to become a double champ. Why do we have to look at that again?
“I think we are in a time right now in fighting that, for me as a fan, is very sad,” Cormier continued. “I don’t believe for a second though, that it’s going to change. I think there will be new guys that will ultimately step right in line with where those guys leave, the Michael Chandlers, the Justin Gaethjes, the Charles Oliveiras. There will always be another guy. But when they all start to walk away, it’s sad for the fan. Especially the new fan that made his way into MMA based on what those guys did for so long in that division.”
It’s not uncommon to hear fighters set retirement targets like this and then not follow through with it when the time comes, but having worked closely with Makhachev over the years, DC believes he has a similar strong-minded mentality as Khabib Nurmagomedov, who also stuck to his guns about retiring while still at the peak of his powers.
“Islam only has three fights. Why? Why? It’s scary to me,” Cormier said. “Because I know, knowing these guys, if he says, ‘I’ve got three,’ and he stands at he has three — the only saving grace right now is someone is saying it for him and he has not said that himself. If Islam comes out and tells us, ‘I’ve got three fights left,’ we should all go, ‘Man, we’ve got to lock in.’ Because you know that it’s a special time. It’s a special reign that Islam has created at 155.
“Why? Why, when you’re in your mid-thirties, are you looking to walk away from the game that you are dominating? We saw Khabib do it and he never looked back. … That should be worrisome to us as MMA fans. We have so many more fights that we want these guys to fight. We want to see him against Jack Della, we want to see him against [Kamaru] Usman, and we want to see him against Ilia Topuria. That is how short a window we are talking about if this man is to walk away after three more fights. It’s crazy.”
