The Russian defended his welterweight title for the first time at
UFC
330, picking up his fifth defense overall in the UFC after a
dominant run at lightweight. His latest win, a decision victory
over Ian
Garry, served as a record-breaker, with Makhachev now the
leader for most consecutive wins in promotional history.

Chris
Weidman, Dustin
Poirier and Jorge
Masvidal have offered their takes on where he stands among the
sport’s greatest fighters.

Chris Weidman questions Islam Makhachev’s title defenses as
Dustin Poirier backs Jon Jones for UFC GOAT

In the latest episode of “Deep Waters,†Weidman, Poirier and
Masvidal shared their thoughts on whether Makhachev has earned the
right to be called the greatest fighter in UFC history.

“I am not saying that yet,†Weidman said, responding to the
question about Makhachev being the GOAT now. “Because I'm still old
school… Title defenses mean a lot and you go back to Anderson
Silva or Demetrious
Johnson if we're ever talking about GOAT… I don't know if he's
there yet.â€

Poirier then chimed in, giving a definitive answer for who he
considers the GOAT.

“To me, Jon
Jones.â€

Masvidal, meanwhile, pointed to the level of competition Makhachev
faced during his lightweight title reign. While the former BMF
champ acknowledges Alexander
Volkanovski as one of the greats, he emphasized that many of
Makhachev’s 155-pound title defenses came against former
featherweights.

“Two of those title defenses at lightweight were to a ‘45er,â€
Masvidal said before Weidman pointed out that Charles
Oliveira also previously fought at 145 pounds.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight responded to
Michael
Morales after the Ecuadorian allegedly suggested that Prates
was avoiding a fight with him. The Brazilian insists he has no
issue facing Morales but believes his position as the higher-ranked
contender warrants a title shot next.

Carlos Prates denies ducking Michael Morales and predicts a
first-round knockout

Shortly after Morales allegedly claimed that Prates was afraid to
fight him, “The Nightmare†responded in a video posted online.

“If the guy has two arms and two legs like me, bro, I can fight
him,†Prates said.

Prates then addressed Morales directly, making it clear that he
would welcome the matchup if the UFC offered it.

“You say I am scared to fight you. I am not scared of a fight with
you… I am the No. 1 contender, so I want to fight for the belt,â€
Prates said. “The UFC never offered me a fight against you. If they
offered me the fight, of course I would knock you out really fast,
in the first round.â€

Prates also made his preferred route clear: challenge Islam
Makhachev for the welterweight title first, then revisit the
Morales matchup. Notably, Makhachev has also welcomed the matchup
for his next title defense.

“But you will have to wait until I get my belt and then we can
fight,†Prates added.

Tsarukyan recently emphasized the importance of building a profile
outside the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for fighters who are unable to
find regular finishes or have control-heavy styles.

Arman Tsarukyan discusses controversy, UFC promotion and
building a profile outside the cage

Tsarukyan, who returns to the Octagon on Sept. 19 against Mauricio
Ruffy in the UFC
331 co-main event, believes controversy can help fighters who
don’t naturally attract fans with their performances.

“If you're a boring fighter inside the cage, controversies are
important for you,†Tsarukyan said in an interview with Russian
YouTube channel Vpiska. “Because if you're not here, you're not
there; you get cut from the game fast. But if you're a great
fighter and you knock people out and show that, you don't even need
to talk English.â€

The Armenian lightweight has increased his visibility outside the
promotion through social media and appearances for Real American
Freestyle, as well as his public association with streamer Nina
Drama. Despite his growing profile, Tsarukyan doesn’t believe the
UFC has played a major role in turning him into a recognizable name
and says he'll reach a whole new level once he's the champ.

“No, [I'm not a UFC star] because people know me not from the UFC
pushing me,†Tsarukyan added. “They know me because of myself. UFC
hasn't really put the work in to make me a star yet. When they
start working on me and start promoting me, then I'll be a UFC
star… When I become a champion, the promotion will be on a whole
different level from the UFC themselves.â€