Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) notched his third title defense when he submitted Poirier in Round 5 at UFC 302 in June. Makhachev, who’s dominated most of his opposition throughout his career, was surprised with how competitive “The Diamond” made things.

Islam Makhachev has explained his run-in with Nate Diaz in December, when the pair’s teams threw water bottles at each other at a UFC press conference. On the week of UFC 310, Makhachev took part in an early press conference for UFC 311, where he defends the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan on 18 January.

As far as effort levels go for his training camp ahead of UFC 311, Islam Makhachev is only operating at a level of four out of five according to his coach and

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was recently involved in an altercation with Nate Diaz, but assures he did not instigate the incident. He doesn't even know what set Diaz off. Makhachev (26-1 MMA,

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev found himself caught up in an unexpected backstage incident with Nate Diaz at the UFC 311 press conference. The altercation, which involved the two exchanging water bottles,