Just moments after the biggest victory of his career, Islam Makhachev issued a call out to the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, Alex Volkanovski.
Makhachev took out the vacant lightweight crown in an impressive manner, submitting former champion Charles Oliveira in the second round of the main event at UFC 280.
Prior to this fight, Oliveira held the record for most submissions in UFC history and crushingly lost the chance to regain his belt through the same method.
Volkanovski was rumoured to be in the mix for a shot at the lightweight belt and was even training in preparation for one of the two fighters to pull out of this fight.
The current featherweight champion has taken on all challenges in his division and has publicly expressed his desire to take on the best of the best at lightweight.
After the fight in Abu Dhabi, Makhachev was asked by Daniel Cormier if he wanted to fight Volkanovski, where he invited him to the cage.
“Where is the short guy?” Makhachev asked whilst looking in the crowd for Volkanovski.
Volkanovski was equally vocal in response, saying: “Let’s do it, the lightweight (title) on the line, the pound-for-pound (ranking) on the line, let’s do it.”
Although it was a very dulled-down confrontation, the fight has UFC fans around the world eagerly anticipating what could easily be the fight of the year.
Volkanovski and Makhachev will likely headline UFC 284 in Perth, with Rob Whittaker already confirmed to be fighting former middleweight contender Paulo Costa on the same card.