Manager Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA has pitched a fight between his two star clients, UFC champions Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev.
Abdelaziz manages Gaethje, the UFC lightweight champion, and Makhachev, the UFC welterweight champion.
With Gaethje’s career winding down, Abdelaziz wants to see him take the biggest fights possible, and that would be a fight against the No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, Makhachev.
Ali Abdelaziz Pitches Justin Gaethje vs. Islam Makhachev
Speaking on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, Abdelaziz explained why he thinks Gaethje vs. Makhachev is the fight to make if Gaethje truly only has one more bout left in the tank.
“If Justin Gaethje is to choose one fight, I only want him to fight one fight, and he needs to pick the biggest guy who is the biggest check next to him. It doesn’t have to be for the title. It can be for a welterweight title, it can be for a lightweight title, it can be for ‘BMF’ title. Whoever’s going to give him the most zeroes,” Abdelaziz said (via MMAFighting.com).
“I think nobody of these guys will add anything to Justin Gaethje’s legacy. Charles Oliveira, he tapped so many times. Arman (Tsarukyan), probably the toughest fight in the division. He’s probably going to be a future champion. Max Holloway, he beat Justin, cool. But also, like me, I’m talking selfishly here, if Ilia (Topuria) would have won, he would have fought Islam (Makhachev) next. I think Justin Gaethje, if you choose to fight Islam, he could get to fight Islam, why not? And he vacates his lightweight title. If that’s the biggest paycheck, that should be the biggest paycheck.”
Who Will Justin Gaethje Fight Next?
While Abdelaziz wants to see a Gaethje vs. Makhachev superfight, both because it would be an amazing fight and also because he manages both men, he said that whoever Gaethje fights next will be left up to his coach Trevot Wittman.
“At the end of the day, Justin Gaethje has one of the smartest coaches in MMA. I listen to this guy with my eyes closed. He gets to choose who Justin fights. Justin Gaethje gets to choose who he fights. So many scenarios. It can be a Max rematch. Charles Oliveira, for me, doesn’t bring anything to the table, in my opinion,” Abdelaziz said.
Although Abdelaziz would prefer to see Gaethje fight Makhachev, the most likely scenario for Gaethje is that he will take on the winner of the upcoming UFC 331 co-main event bout between Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy.
Most believe that Tsarukyan is already well deserving of a title shot at 155 lbs, but if Ruffy upsets the apple cart, then it would be hard to deny him a fight for the belt next.
Ultimately, look for Gaethje to fight at least one more time in 2027, likely against the winner of Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy, and then go from there as his UFC Hall of Fame career begins to finally wind down.
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