Islam Makhachev's Welterweight Title Defense Plans Before Ramadan

Islam Makhachev walked out of Philadelphia with his Welterweight belt still wrapped around his waist — and a quiet reminder that even dominant champions are made of bone and nerve, not steel.

The UFC 330 main event against Ian Machado Garry was billed as a stern first test at 170 pounds for the former Lightweight ruler. Makhachev passed it, handled it, and moved on. But once the lights dimmed and the cameras cut away, the real inspection began.

“I had three MRIs and had my entire spine checked,” Makhachev revealed in a recent interview. The scans showed “a few small issues,” nothing major, he insisted, but enough to send him straight into a strengthening phase rather than a victory lap. The belt is safe. His back needs work.

He isn’t talking layoffs, though. He’s talking dates.

“We’ll wait for the UFC to call,” he said. “I think the ideal scenario would be to fight before Ramadan. Ramadan starts for us in February. A date before Ramadan would be ideal.”

That single line drops a clear marker on the calendar. Ramadan is expected to begin around Feb. 8, 2027, which gives the UFC only a narrow lane to squeeze in Makhachev’s second Welterweight title defense. Realistically, that means December 2026 or January 2027. Miss that window, and the champion disappears into religious observance and recovery, pushing everything back.

So who’s waiting on the other side of that phone call?

Right now, all roads point toward Carlos Prates. The Brazilian knockout artist has been shouting his case from every rooftop he can find, claiming the UFC promised him the next crack at the title. His record backs up the noise. Three consecutive stoppages over Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and former champion Jack Della Maddalena have turned “The Nightmare” into a genuine threat, not just a loud contender.

Those names matter. They’re not padding. They’re the kind of scalps that usually unlock a title shot.

Makhachev, though, has floated a different route. He previously suggested Prates should face undefeated contender Michael Morales to decide who truly deserves the next opportunity. It’s the champion’s instinct for order: prove it one more time, then step up. Prates has pushed back hard, convinced his résumé already answers every question that matchup would ask.

So the tension builds in two places at once. In the champion’s spine, being fortified day by day. In the division’s pecking order, where one matchmaker’s decision could redraw the map.

There’s another layer to Makhachev’s timing. If the UFC locks him in before Ramadan, the schedule opens up beautifully. An early 2027 defense would keep him on the familiar rhythm that defined his run at Lightweight, where he typically fought twice a year when healthy. Get one in before February, and the door swings wide for a second defense in late summer or fall.

That’s how legacies are built: not just in single nights, but in relentless, repeating campaigns.

For now, the champion lifts, rehabs and waits. The scans have spoken. His spine needs strengthening, not surgery. The belt stays in Dagestan. The next move belongs to the UFC matchmakers — and to the decision on whether Carlos Prates has already done enough to force his way into Makhachev’s tight 2027 window.