“We have to change the champion,” Islam Makhachev calls out Leon Edwards and Colby Covington for ‘bullsh*t’ UFC 296 title fight

Unimpressed by the current state of the top welterweights, Islam Makhachev makes callouts after a hogwash UFC 296 main event.

“We have to change the champion,” Islam Makhachev calls out Leon Edwards and Colby Covington for ‘bullsh*t’ UFC 296 title fight

Islam Makhachev is not impressed with the turnabout of UFC 296 main event (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

The UFC hosted its final star-studded pay-per-view event of the year 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 296 thus saw Alexandre Pantoja retain his flyweight championship gold in the co-main event. So did reigning welterweight Leon “Rocky” Edwards, in the headlining bout against Colby Covington. Now, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has a message for the lot.

Makhachev, the pound-for-pound #1, recently dominated over featherweight Alexander Volkanovski. He subdued the rival with a spectacular shin kick to the head, in a two-division glory bout. Now, the lightweight himself wants a shift to 170lbs. Speaking after the UFC 296 headliner, here’s what he had to say:

Leon [Edwards] has to be next. And also [Covington] his fight was bu**s**t, man! You have to change the champion.
Islam Makhachev after UFC 296
YouTube video

The 22-3 striker, Edwards had opened up the bout with an Orthodox stance. But the rival, “Chaos” never answered back and went on with a laggard performance, staggering at every chance. Edwards thus scored a unanimous decision win (49-46, 49-46, 49-46); a grapple which even he does not consider his better or active fights by any means.

FS Video

Correspondingly, “Rocky” had 57/108 significant strikes that connected. Covington had even less; in the low 40s. Recently AKA coach Javier Mendez had weighed in on a prospective fight with Edwards, comparing it to a third bout with Volkanovski.

Islam Makhachev issues challenge to welterweight top spots

Lightweight king Islam Makhahchev was not impressed by the UFC 296 headlining bout. The 25-1 Dagestani is all but undefeated in his division. He had very recently wished upon a move to welterweight. Conversely, now he has amped up his challenge.

Islam Makhachev calls out Leon Edwards and Colby Covington
Islam Makhachev calls out Leon Edwards and Colby Covington (Source: Twitter)

In the aftermath of UFC 296, Makhachev took to X and wrote:

I will finish both this guy
Islam Makhachev via X

He now has a clear aim of being able to overcome Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. However, his open challenge to Edwards did not sit well with many fans. A few replies have rebounded and mocked him saying “Finish English lessons first.“ Check out what another tweet said down below.

Despite the subtle mockery and dig at his language barrier, the Dagestani remains a formidable force. The southpaw from Eagles MMA also happens to be a combat Sambo champion and a two-time Russian national champion. The fighter has been keen on testing out a US vs. Dagestani wrestling for a long while now.

in case you missed it: