“He’s so experienced” – Stephen Thompson names two fighters who might dethrone Islam Makhachev as welterweight champion

Stephen Thompson recently named two fighters who could threaten Islam Makhachev’s reign over the UFC welterweight division.

Makhachev is one of the biggest superstars in mixed martial arts and is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Ian Machado Garry in their title fight at UFC 330 in August. He now holds the record for having the longest win streak in UFC history with 17 consecutive victories on his record.

Given his record and resume, many have wondered whether the UFC welterweight roster had a fighter who could threaten the Dagestani grappling savant’s reign as champion.

In an interview, Thompson named Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov as potential threats to Makhachev’s win streak and said:

“At this point, we gotta see where Shavkat is. I’m not really sure where he’s going to be on the rankings because he’s been out for so long. I knew it was either Shavkat or Ian Machado Garry to really go out there and become champions. You’ve got guys on the come-up right now like Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. Ian beat Carlos, so Carlos has to prove himself… I still think Ian Garry has what it takes to become a champion.”

He added:

“I think if they fought again, it would be an even harder fight for Islam Makhachev, but he’s so experienced… I still think Ian’s got what it takes. I still think Shavkat, hopefully if he gets back and gets scrapping again, he could be that potential guy.”

Carlos Prates confident of his chances against Islam Makhachev in potential fight

Carlos Prates recently shared his thoughts on a potential fight against Islam Makhachev and expressed his confidence in his ability to get the job done.

In an interview with Gilbert Burns, Prates referenced Makhachev’s performance against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 and said:

“Man, honestly, I think I got even more confident, man, because of the stuff I’ve seen and the time we have to train. I said, man, I think it’s possible. Then I saw Ian Garry defend some positions the way I do, like, the back against the fence.”

He added:

“I said, ‘D**n, I do that a lot.’ Then I heard, I don’t know who, say that he made an adjustment because he’s very tall, and it’s hard for Makhachev to get the hooks in. I said, ‘D**n, you can adapt that.’ And that defense he used. I do that every fight.”