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.

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.

The 226th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Vegas 120.

We're joined by UFC lightweight Diego Ferreira to preview his co-main event fight against Billy Quarantillo.

Diego Ferreira is the lone guest on the show to preview his UFC Vegas 120 co-main event fight against Billy Quarantillo. Diego talks about the layoff and why he hasn't fought since September of last year. Diego talks about his move to be closer to Fortis and who he's training with ahead of this fight. The Brazilian then chats about facing Billy Quarantillo, who's moving up, and if he feels like the size will be a factor. He chats about the style matchup and how he sees the fight playing out. Diego then talks about what a win does for him and how much longer he has left.

Be sure to tune in every Tuesday for another episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN as Cole Shelton chats with fighters to help preview or recap their fights.

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Stay locked to BJPENN.com all week for your UFC Vegas 120 coverage.

UFC Vegas 120 Fight Card

UFC Vegas 120 goes down on Saturday, and the card is as follows:

• Mateusz Gamrot vs. Qullian Salkilld
• Billy Quarantillo vs. Diego Ferreira
• Darren Elkins vs. Yadier del Valle
• Amanda Lemos vs. Alexia Thainara
• Ty Miller vs. Billy Ray Goff
• Steven Asplund vs. Guilherme Pat
• Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Bruno Lopes
• Joe Montanha vs. Louie Sutherland
• Manouel Sousa vs. Richie Miranda
• Miles Johns vs. Jessie Rosas
• Julianna Miller vs. Ravena Oliveira

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM