Makhachev put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line
for the first time against Ian Garry at
UFC
330. While he retained his belt via unanimous decision, the
Dagestani champion was pushed to the limit and had to dig deep.
After his second welterweight bout, Usman claims he can beat
Makhachev if they were matched up.

Kamaru Usman backs his style against Islam Makhachev after UFC
330

While Usman acknowledges the new crop of contenders at
welterweight, the former champ believes he remains a serious threat
to Makhachev.

“There are really good guys coming up that are going to turn into
killers,†Usman said on the “Pound 4 Pound†podcast. “But right
now, being honest with you, with all the styles that I see and the
MMA mathematics… How it works out, I felt that, hey, styles make
fights, I'm telling you guys, I can get that done.â€

Usman was rallying for a title shot against Makhachev when the
latter dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena last November. Even Makhachev acknowledged “The
Nigerian Nightmare†as his biggest threat at the time. However,
Usman's lengthy Octagon hiatus saw contenders like Garry, Carlos
Prates and Michael
Morales overtake him in the pecking order at 170 pounds.

Usman (21-5) lost his welterweight title in a shock knockout upset
to Leon
Edwards in 2022 and lost the rematch the following year. Usman
then suffered a hard-fought majority-decision loss in a
middleweight bout against Khamzat
Chimaev.

The former champ then dropped back to welterweight and returned
after a 20-month hiatus to beat Joaquin
Buckley last year. After unsuccessfully rallying for a title
shot against Makhachev, Usman moved back up to middleweight and
suffered a unanimous decision loss against Dricus Du
Plessis.

Mokaev says he accepted four grappling bouts in a week against
former One
Championship titleholder Adriano
Moraes and
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights Asu
Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris and Ramazonbek
Temirov. He alleges that all four opponents agreed to fight
him, only to pull out the very next day.

Former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev details a ‘crazy week' of
failed grappling matchups

Mokaev eventually secured a grappling matchup against Moris
Boleian. They will compete for the ACBJJ 60kg Grand Title on Aug.
30 at Ora Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.

“It was crazy week,†the former UFC flyweight wrote on X. “Signed
to compete 4 names in 1 week (Adriano Moraes, Asu Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris & Ramazan Temirov) And they all too but next day the didn't
want to. At the end only this guy accepted.â€

Mokaev (16-0) has finished three of his four MMA wins and one in
Karate Combat since his UFC exit in 2024. The undefeated flyweight
is also active on the grappling circuit, where he suffered a loss
against a much bigger Arman
Tsarukyan in his last match. Meanwhile, Boleian (8-1) has
finished all eight of his professional wins via submission before
suffering his lone career loss via split decision at UAE Warriors
this past January.

Credit: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan doesn't have a lot of sympathy for Charles Oliveira after their scratched UFC 331 rematch.

Top UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan and BMF titleholder Charles Oliveira were rumored to run it back at UFC 331 next month. Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira in a closely contested bout at UFC 300 earlier in their careers.

Despite recent rumors, the UFC matchmakers booked Tsarukyan for the UFC 331 co-main event against surging contender Mauricio Ruffy. Oliveira's teammate Allan Nascimento's tragic death was proposed as the likely reason for Oliveira's sudden withdrawal from the rumored UFC 331 matchup.

But just days after the new UFC 331 fight announcement, Oliveira has posted training footage on his social media accounts, as fans await news on the BMF champ's return. According to Tsarukyan, the validity of Oliveira's apparent pullout from UFC 331 should be questioned.

Arman Tsarukyan: Charles Oliveira used teammate's death to ‘duck' rematch

In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Tsarukyan was asked about Oliveira pulling out of their rumored rematch at UFC 331.

“Charles' friend died, and he cannot train; but I don't understand, in 3-4 days he's doing training and back in camp,†Tsarukyan said of Oliveira.

“Probably they already set up a fight with Diego Lopes. He was just finding an excuse. To lose somebody is so hard, but you could beat me and dedicate the victory to your friend. Fight me or Diego Lopes? For sure, he would pick Diego Lopes.†(h/t MMA Mania)

A matchup between Oliveira and former UFC featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes has been proposed as a potential future bout. Lopes recently announced his full-time move to the lightweight division after back-to-back losses to featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.

Oliveira last fought against Max Holloway at UFC 326, winning by unanimous decision to earn the BMF title. The former UFC lightweight champion is looking to make another title push after a recent vacant title loss to Ilia Topuria.

What is your prediction for Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM