Following recent fight results, Islam Makhachev initially made a public statement indicating his intention not to vacate his lightweight championship while pursuing a move up to a higher weight class.
However, it has now been officially confirmed that Makhachev has indeed relinquished the lightweight belt. This opens the door for Ilia Topuria to face Charles Oliveira for the now-vacant title at UFC 317.
Meanwhile, the former lightweight champion`s next bout will be against Jack Della Maddalena. This fight follows Della Maddalena`s victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 and is expected to take place in the near future in the welterweight division.
Reports suggest the UFC is moving away from the era of simultaneous two-weight champions, a trend seemingly reinforced by Dana White`s recent fight announcements.
Henry Cejudo Believes He`s the Final UFC `Champ-Champ`
Since the beginning of the year, both Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria have vacated their titles upon committing to challenging for a second belt in a different weight class.
Conor McGregor made history in 2016 by becoming the first fighter to hold two UFC titles concurrently. This achievement subsequently became a major goal for many fighters, with three others joining the “champ-champ” ranks before the promotion reportedly began discouraging the practice.
While holding two titles simultaneously is undoubtedly impressive, many fans have advocated for champions to remain in their divisions, focusing instead on building a legacy through dominant title reigns.
Henry Cejudo, along with Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes, was among the fighters who successfully held two UFC belts at the same time, capturing the bantamweight title after being the flyweight champion. He defended each belt once before taking a three-year break. Upon his return in May 2023, he was defeated by Aljamain Sterling.
Following the news of Makhachev vacating his title, Cejudo took to social media to assert that he might be the last fighter to ever achieve double-champ status, citing the UFC`s apparent policy shift against it. He posted:
“With Islam Makhachev vacating his belt, I guess that makes me the last fighter to ever be double champ. And I’m Triple champ. You’re welcome #UFC317.”
Amanda Nunes: The Lone Champion to Defend Both Belts
One significant issue with champions holding multiple belts is the potential for slowing down both divisions involved, as contenders must wait for a shared champion.
Notably, Conor McGregor never defended either of the titles he held simultaneously. Similarly, Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo primarily competed in the higher weight class after winning their second title, defending it just once before either losing or vacating.
Amanda Nunes stands out as the only “champ-champ” who actively defended both of her titles. This was partly possible because there was not a large backlog of top contenders in her divisions at the time. `The Lioness` managed to keep both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions relatively active, a feat that would be considerably more challenging for someone like Islam Makhachev given the depth of the lightweight and welterweight divisions.
Gareth Tenby