Islam Makhachev is the champion of the red-hot welterweight division and there’s a whole host of contenders aiming to take his crown.
UFC 322 and UFC Qatar provided just as much confusion as clarity as far as where the 170-pound division goes, with Makhachev completing a successful move up from lightweight to dominate Jack Della Maddalena, Michael Morales and Carlos Prates stealing headlines with spectacular knockouts, and Ian Machado Garry scoring a pivotal win over recent champion Belal Muhammad. Somehow, longtime titleholder Kamaru Usman lingers over the title picture, having recently returned to the win column by beating streaking contender Joaquin Buckley, and the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is also waiting for his chance.
Fight fans can’t seem to agree who will get the first call to sign on for the Makhachev fight, but the MMA Fighting crew definitely has their opinions. In our latest Roundtable, Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew debate who they want to see challenge for the title next and whose case should be thrown out of court.
Who should get the shot: Michael Morales.
This month has been presented to us as “moving time” in the welterweight division, where the top guys who should be in the title conversation had the opportunity to solidify their spots. Nobody did it better than Michael Morales did.
Not only did Morales beat Sean Brady, he absolutely ran him over at UFC 322. It was the most impressive performance in the division all year long, and with Morales’ size, speed, power, and athleticism, I honestly believe he would give Makhachev a super interesting challenge.
Of course, if the UFC gave the shot to Ian Machado Garry or Shavkat Rakhmonov, I wouldn’t be terribly upset by that. All three of these men have solid cases for a championship opportunity. But if we were truly to believe that we were witnessing a “Who did it best?”-type grand prix, Morales was head and shoulders above the rest.
Morales is my if-I-have-to-choose-one answer. But my real answer is any of those three names, as long as it’s not…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: Kamaru Usman attends the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
Who should NOT get the shot: Kamaru Usman.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin the proceedings by once again saying I respect everything Kamaru Usman has accomplished in this sport. He is the second-, at worst third-best welterweight of all time. And in a division with such a rich history, that’s beyond impressive.
With that out of the way… Kamaru Usman getting a title shot right now is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!
If this division was where it was at when Usman was the champion, then it would make sense for someone in Usman’s spot to get the shot. But let’s be honest, friends. Welterweight is 10,000 times more interesting now than it was then, and most of the rise of intrigue in this division happened while Usman wasn’t fighting.
But now we get into the nitty gritty. Usman has ONE WIN in the last four years. One. It was against Joaquin Buckley, who was on a nice run, but the best wins during Buckley’s streak were Stephen Thompson — who is one day older than I am, and was beating Buckley for over two rounds of that fight — and Colby Covington, who is clearly on the back-nine and took that fight coming off of the couch. Usman beat Buckley in a workmanlike fashion, and he should be commended for it. But to say that win has more value than what Michael Morales did to Sean Brady, or what Ian Machado Garry did to Belal Muhammad, and not to mention, what Shavkat Rakhmonov has done to everyone he’s faced in his career is just incorrect. Let’s not forget, Usman got his title fight get-back after Leon Edwards colded him. He got a full camp, and lost again in a non-controversial fashion. And yes, he fought Khamzat on short notice, and while that’s really cool, he lost that fight, too. So we’re going to reward him with jumping the queue because he has one win while the division got super fun while he wasn’t fighting because he lost to Khamzat Chimaev?
So that’s the merit argument.
As far as the, “It’s the biggest fight the UFC can make in the division” argument, I would love to know what this is based off of. Usman is obviously known, but did I miss where he became this gigantic superstar? Usman was the B-side in more than half of his title defenses, and if you watched UFC 322, Islam Makhachev is a star, and will be the A-side in pretty much every fight he’d be in, unless it’s Ilia Topuria, then it’s at least a discussion. I’d be willing to bet Makhachev vs. Usman would do about the same as Makhachev against anybody else in the division. If we’re actually going to base this decision on which fight for Makhachev draws the most eyeballs, just freaking give it to Topuria. Yes, it’s ludicrous and silly, but at least it’s undeniable that it would be the biggest fight.
I’ll cap this off with the most important point of all: NOBODY is asking for this fight outside of Usman, Makhachev (and even he’s pulling back on it), their manager, and, oh yeah, Usman’s podcast co-host Henry Cejudo. The UFC can’t even play the, “This is the fight the fans want” card.
In conclusion, if drawing power is a wash because the actual draw is the champion, can we just let merit reign for once? Can’t we just live in a world where Usman has to win one more fight against another one of these fighters in the conversation?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: Michael Morales of Ecuador enters the Octagon in a welterweight fight during the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Who should get the shot: Breathe my best friend, breathe.
Unsurprisingly, I’m with Mr. Heck when it comes to giving Morales the title shot. I’ve been all in on the Morales bandwagon since early in his UFC career and even though I wavered and weakly picked Brady to beat him (I thought it would be a learning lesson!), I was very, very wrong and very, very happy to be so. Morales is ready right now and yes, I believe he actually has a good shot to beat Makhachev.
Still just 26, Morales has plenty of room to grow while also showing he’s pretty darned season already with a 19-0 record including seven UFC victories. He hasn’t been picking on minnows either. Brady, Gilbert Burns, Neil Magny, and Jake Matthews are all tough outs and Morales has excelled with every new test. Why not him? Why not now?
The man has the entire nation of Ecuador behind him and if he can shock the world with an upset of Makhachev, then the UFC potentially has its next global star.
Who should NOT get the shot: Carlos Prates.
That’s right, I hate fun!
OK, let’s talk about why Prates is even in the conversation. Straight-up smoking a guy who was welterweight champion less than 18 months ago should immediately merit title consideration and then you factor in that all six of his UFC wins have come by way of highlight-reel knockout and it seems silly to rule him out for the next title shot. Fans love the guy and of all the names being bandied about here, Prates might have the best puncher’s chance of them all. It’s easy to picture him being outwrestled early, playing to the crowd with “this guy can’t hurt me” gestures, and then going all out in the last two rounds to secure the KO. Unlikely, but the anticipation would be palpable.
However, we can’t write off the recent loss to Ian Machado Garry, who has held up his end of the bargain since his lone loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov, who Prates also shouldn’t pass in line if we’re using MMAth. “The Nightmare” is still in his prime, so let’s revisit this one in 2027.
Who should get the shot: Kamaru Usman.
This pick will undoubtedly get the most aggressive responses because there aren’t a lot of people on board with this idea, but there are a couple of reasons why this matchup makes sense right now — and let’s be honest, why the UFC might just pull the trigger on this one.
First off, Usman is one of the greatest welterweights of all time and he’s going to bring more eyeballs to a title fight, which, like it or not is going to matter to the UFC. Obviously, Islam recognizes this fact because he’s also been pushing for a showdown against Usman. But the biggest difference in this potential matchup compared to Jon Jones only showing interest in facing Stipe Miocic is that Usman actually earned a quality win over a legit top 10 contender in Joaquin Buckley in his last outing and he’s not on the wrong side of 40.
Add to that, Usman did the UFC a solid stepping up on 10 days’ notice and nearly beating Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight (if he had two more rounds to work, Usman might be fighting for middleweight gold right now).
No one should argue Usman is the most deserving, but if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times — if you want to stay sane watching or covering this sport, wipe the word “deserves” from your vocabulary. Nick Diaz didn’t deserve a title shot against Georges St-Pierre. Marlon “Chito” Vera didn’t deserve a title shot against Sean O’Malley. Chael Sonnen definitely didn’t deserve a title shot against Jon Jones. Usman may not deserve a shot at Makhachev but that doesn’t mean he won’t get it!
Ian Machado Garry of Ireland reacts during a welterweight bout with Belal Muhammad of Palestine at the UFC Fight Night event at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena (ABHA Arena) in Doha, Qatar, on November 22, 2025. (Photo by Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images
Who should NOT get the shot: Ian Machado Garry.
Garry might be the loudest person in the room when it comes to asking for a title shot but his record and overall performances just don’t put him over the hump right now.
Yes, Garry has won back-to-back fights over Prates and Muhammad. Neither fight was particularly close but here’s the thing — what highlights do you remember from either of those performances? What moments truly stand out from the fights?
Garry’s style just doesn’t lend itself to exciting finishes — and that’s OK — but he’s constantly talking like he’s an executioner out there just lopping off heads. He makes grand promises that he’s going to viciously knock out this guy or that guy but then walks away with a win on the scorecards.
Winning is what matters most, but that works against Garry in this scenario because he can’t just jump the line after losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov and then making it sound like his next two wins totally negate what happened beforehand. Rakhmonov has a better argument even if sitting out for the past year and a half has killed his momentum.
So Garry should take another fight — here’s hoping that comes against Michael Morales — and we’ll find out if he’s truly ready for a title shot or if he’s doomed to be the bridesmaid rather than the bride.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 07: Shavkat Rakhmonov of Uzbekistan warms up prior to his fight during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
Who should get the shot: Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The entire MMA world has gone crazy, and I don’t understand it.
For nearly five years, everyone collectively agreed that Rakhmonov was awesome: 18 fights, 18 finishes, cool hat, Fedor-esque stoic aura. The question was not whether he’d get a title shot, it was “Will Shavkat or Khamzat run welterweight?” And now that’s just entirely gone? What happened?!
I’ll tell you what happened, the fanbase as the memory of goldfish. If you are not fighting every six weeks, they forget you entirely, which is insane. Especially given what Shavkat did before he got injured. There are people out here arguing that Shavkat is boring which is … WHAT!?!?!
The case for Shavkat is simple: he’s never lost, and he beat the guy that, according to Jon Anik, is most deserving of a title shot (also a completely outrageous take); not five years ago, or in another org, but 11 months ago, in a UFC five-round fight. Belal Muhammad was the No. 1 contender. Ian Machado Garry should go above him after beating him, and Shavkat goes above him. THAT is merit.
And lest we forget, as Islam Makhachev seems to have done, the only reason Shavkat doesn’t have the belt right now and others are fighting for an interim strap is because Muhammad got injured and pulled out of their scheduled fight at UFC 310. Shavkat could have just waited on Belal, but he didn’t, he fought, he got hurt, and now you’re going to punish him for that? Utter nonsense. This is the only reasonable choice.
Who should NOT get the shot: Anyone not named Shavkat Rakhmonov
Shavkat is the only right choice! WHAT. ARE. WE. DOING? Twelve months ago if you had told people we would have the opportunity for an Islam Makhachev vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov welterweight title fight, they would have lost their minds in excitement! Now, we’re selling ourselves on Islam fighting a dude only hardcore fans knew of before last Saturday? COME ON!
The ranking list of who deserves a title shot goes like this.
- Shavkat
- Shavkat
- No, seriously, Shavkat
- Michael Morales
- Ian Machado Garry
- Carlos Prates
- Three wolverines stacked in a trench coat
- Georges St-Pierre
- Kamaru Usman
- Ilia Topuria
Topuria has no business at welterweight, the entire Usman thing is a joke (as outlined by Mike) and if you’re going to play the “legacy fight against the GOAT” the actual GOAT is GSP. Prates just lost to Garry, and Garry just lost to Shavkat (and is crazy boring). Morales is the only other even half-way reasonable consideration, but he’s still green, and would be better served by getting one more fight to develop before facing the best dude in the world, maybe the best dude ever.
It’s Shavkat. It’s always been Shavkat.
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