So what's next for Islam? His 3 fight plan was to fight Justin in June?

[HockeyBjj]

Remember this tweet from like, a week ago?



And now it's thrown in the trash? Gaethje is fighting in April so he can't turn around in time for early June. Especially not going from a volume striker in Max to getting ready for someone with Islam's wrestling.


Is Islam fighting Leon already for the very watered down double champ status after not defending his belt against any actual 155lb contenders?

Justin vs Max is such a dumb fight to make for the UFC desperate to have something to make 300 special

 

[markg171]

Abu Dhabi Weight in October.

As was always the plan.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

June's turning into at least July for sure (and don't be surprised if that Saudi card gets pushed with it and becomes a PPV).

Unless Justin KO's Max instantly, the lesser damaged will probably be the winner of Arman-Charles that same night. The other winner could still settle in November.

But what I'm most worried about it is the chance that Islam 'remains unavailable' for the winners at UFC 300 to face off and become one single contender, and then he'll ship off to his WW shot

 

[VAfan]

islam against israel adesanya for the MEB (Middle East Belt).

 

[sdpdude9]

Once again some silly scheduling. If he was looking to return in June, then either Oliveira or Gaethje should have remained unbooked. Same thing they did booking DDP vs. Whittaker only 3 months before the champion was expected to be ready. Had to scramble and get a (at the time) less desirable opponent.

 

[markg171]

You're all forgetting Conor/Chandler June 29th.

That's the real play and why these matchups are happening. Dana's having everybody fight and leaving his champion out of it. It's not hard to see what's going on.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

"...his 3 fight plan was to fight Justin in June...."

The thing is, he talks a lot. So far he has said he wants to

• defend 3x/yr,
• not fight contenders who don't 'deserve' it,
• move up,
• defend agaisnt 145ers.

So like many other fighters, I didn't take his latest comments very seriously at all. I invite others to join me.

And if he fights Justin and 2 others in 2024, I'll be THRILLED to have been proven wrong.

 

[IneedSometop]

I think it’s pretty obvious that one or both of the winners is going to be pressured to make a quick turnaround.

The two winners should flat out say no to a June fight though. Seems like they could have some bargaining power if they both stick to their guns. I mean who else is Islam going to fight? Gamrot maybe?

 

[maximus__]

Remember this tweet from like, a week ago?



And now it's thrown in the trash? Gaethje is fighting in April so he can't turn around in time for early June. Especially not going from a volume striker in Max to getting ready for someone with Islam's wrestling.


Is Islam fighting Leon already for the very watered down double champ status after not defending his belt against any actual 155lb contenders?

Justin vs Max is such a dumb fight to make for the UFC desperate to have something to make 300 special

It's a good fight at a crap time. It makes as much sense as Gaethje vs Chandler did and even Poirer vs Gaethje 2 did. All of these were great fights but shouldn't have happened when they did.

Gaethje should be fighting Islam if Charles isn't. Charles should have fought Islam prior to ramadan and Gaethje should have been that June fight still if Islam made it through unscathed again.

Max will have fought more top 5 LWs than Islam after this fight technically. He has a win over Charles (at FW) Loss to Poirer and then the Gaethje fight. If he wins he is technically 2-1 over ranked LWs with wins over two former LW champions in Edgar and Pettis... Pretty crazy to think about.

I personally don't think we will see Islam outside of Abu Dhabi ever again. They will rejig that fight night card and turn it into a PPV for Islam specifically.