UFC president Dana White says he believes Islam Makhachev’s decision to skip his UFC 336 return was driven largely by money.
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UFC president Dana White believes the “money” available at the top of the sport is a major reason Islam Makhachev turned down a planned return at UFC 336.
White’s comments came after the UFC welterweight titleholder decided not to defend his belt at UFC 336 in January, despite verbally agreeing to return. White said he was frustrated by what he described as Makhachev “holding up the division” and questioned the reasoning behind the pullout.
In explaining why he thinks Makhachev stepped away from the scheduled fight, White said he likes fighters to compete frequently, adding that while being the champion might not require three outings a year, “twice would be nice.” He also pointed to the opportunity the title matchup creates for others: “What you start to do is back up the division, because lots of guys would like a shot at the title.”
White then said the central factor was compensation. “I think it’s money,” he explained. “Once you get so much money — when guys are young and hungry, they want to fight a lot because they want to get paid. But once you start to get enough money, you don’t have to fight all the time. And for him, to be fair to Islam, look at what he’s accomplished.”
Makhachev has not fought since defeating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 earlier this year, and he remains listed at the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. With his UFC 336 pullout, Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are set to fight for the interim UFC welterweight title at the January event.
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