Despite his extensive accomplishments in combat sports, Islam
Makhachev remains humble.

Makhachev recently received a black belt in taekwondo from his
coach, Seifulla
Magomedov, who is a four-time European taekwondo champion.
However, Makhachev, who is from Dagestan, humbly admits that the
credibility of his black belt is questionable.

Islam Makhachev questions new taekwondo black belt after
receiving promotion

Makhachev believes the black belt was more of a gift from his coach
than a well-deserved promotion.

“This belt we have to check,†Makhachev told MMA Junkie. “One of my
coaches is Russian Olympic team coach. He just give me. I call this
gift. Not something I really deserve.â€

Like many of Makhachev's one-liners, “checking belts†has become a
part of mixed martial arts folklore. The phrase was first used by
the reigning welterweight champion while discussing the threat
posed by fighters with black belts in jiu-jitsu. Makhachev famously
said that the credibility of jiu-jitsu black belts needs to be
checked, as there are too many being doled out.

Makhachev (28-1) defended the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title four times,
the most in the division's history, before moving up to
welterweight, where he dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena to win the title last year. He is now scheduled
to defend his 170-pound title for the first time against Ian Garry
(17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Islam
Makhachev was NOT confident while speaking about his recent
promotion to a black belt in Taekwondo 😭

“Bro this belt we have to check… I call this gift you know, not
something I really deserve…â€

(Via @MMAJunkie)
pic.twitter.com/gIze8bhitQ

— Title Fight (@TitleFightMedia)
August 3, 2026

Islam
Makhachev and his new training partner, Joel
Alvarez, are set to compete on the same card.

Makhachev is scheduled to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against
Ian
Garry in the main event at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Alvarez
was specifically brought into Makhachev's camp to mimic Garry and
the Spaniard is now reportedly set to compete at the upcoming
numbered event.

Joel Alvarez replaces Geoff Neal and joins Islam Makhachev vs.
Ian Garry card at UFC 330

As reported by Alvaro Colmenero, Alvarez (23-4) has accepted a
short-notice fight against Chidi
Njokuani (25-12) at UFC 330. “El Fenomeno†steps up on about
two weeks' notice after Njokuani's original opponent, Geoff Neal,
pulled out due to an injury.

Alvarez is 8-3 in the UFC, with all of his losses coming against
elite opponents. He went 7-2 while competing as a lightweight in
the promotion, although he missed weight twice. Despite putting
together a three-fight win streak at 155 pounds without missing
weight across 2023 and 2024, he opted to move up to welterweight,
winning his 170-pound debut in the UFC against Vicente
Luque.

He is coming off a submission loss against Yaroslav
Amosov that snapped a four-fight winning streak with three
finishes. Meanwhile, Njokuani is 5-5 in the UFC and currently on a
two-fight slump.

Merab
Dvalishvili has changed his training in preparation for a
potential rubber match against Petr Yan.

Dvalishvili (21-5) was looking to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title for the
fourth time in a year against the Russian fighter this past
December. However, Yan completely neutralized Dvalishvili's
wrestling and pieced him up in the stand-up to earn a unanimous
decision win, taking their rivalry to 1-1.

“The Machine†is leaving no stone unturned ahead of their potential
trilogy bout.

Merab Dvalishvili adds new wrestling coach while preparing for
Petr Yan trilogy bout

Dvalishvili has hired a new wrestling coach for private sessions.
The Georgian says that while he worked hard ahead of his failed
title defense against Yan, he is working smarter now.

“This is my second training session and I have a private wrestling
session with coach Jesse,†Dvalishvili said on a recent vlog shared
on YouTube. “He's my new coach; he's been helping me with private
training. And this Q MMA is a new gym in [Las] Vegas. Today's
training was very good because we worked some positions. This is
pretty much how I'm gonna work against Petr. And this feels like a
real training camp for me… The last time I fought Petr, I was
working hard. This time, I’m working smart. That’s what I need, and
I think I'm going to make a big difference. I’m going to take my
belt back.â€

Dvalishvili and Yan's two fights so far have been a stark contrast
from one another. In their first meeting in 2023, when they
headlined a Fight Night event, Dvalishvili set the record for most
takedown attempts in a five-round fight and repeatedly took Yan
down en route to a comfortable decision win.

Yan then worked his way into title contention to earn a rematch
last year, showcasing significant improvements in his defensive
wrestling. “No Mercy†thwarted most of the former champion's
offense to cruise to a decision win of his own.