Islam Makhachev has discussed a move to middleweight. Dana White believes the UFC Lightweight Champion should consider welterweight instead.

Following his fourth successful defense of the lightweight championship at UFC 311 in Los Angeles, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ made waves during his post-fight interview, claiming that he could jump up from 155 to 185 in a bid to take Dricus Du Plessis’ middleweight gold.

UFC boss, Dana White has shut down Islam Makhachev's callout of middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, stating that it would be too much for him.

There, the UFC executive largely shut down Islam Makhachev’s tease of a move to 185 pounds. While Dana White has no issue with the lightweight champion moving up to welterweight, a move to middleweight is a bridge too far for the promoter.

While lightweight champion Islam Makhachev officially has been ranked as the promotion’s pound-for-pound best for quite some time, White has spent the past year vehemently making the case for Jones. But that changed Saturday night after Makhachev submitted replacement Renato Moicano in the first round of the UFC 311 main event at Intuit Dome.

Dana White delivers a sly response when asked about Islam Makhachev potentially moving up to 185 lbs, keeping fans speculating.

After lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's UFC 311 performance, UFC CEO Dana White believes the Russian is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Makhachev is already the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, a decision UFC CEO Dana White lambasted. White has reiterated that UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones should be No. 1, but when asked if Makhachev’s willingness to fight anyone at anytime has changed his mind, he finally caved.

UFC president Dana White now believes Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world after UFC 311.

Dana White spent the majority of 2024 blasting the UFC rankings panel for overlooking heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who has fought just twice in five years, in favor of Makhachev. However, the MMA mogul finally admitted that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate is the best fighter currently on his roster after UFC 311.

Dana White denies Arman Tsarukyan a title shot against Islam Makhachev, stating the rising contender won’t get his chance yet.

The ride to UFC 311 had some last-minute bumps in the road when would-be lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury Friday that forced his withdrawal from a main-event rematch with champion Islam Makhachev, resulting in a Renato Moicano detour on a day's notice.