Islam Makhachev said he isn't concerned with being known as the greatest lightweight of all time, but does value setting records and earning his way into the UFC Hall of Fame.
He has a chance to do something Saturday night in Inglewood, California, that no other fighter in his division has ever accomplished — successfully defend his belt four times. Four others have done it three times.
And if he does that, Makhachev puts himself in lightweight GOAT status.
“I swear I never think about that,” Makhachev said.
Standing in his way is 10th-ranked challenger Renato Moicano. He is a late-hour replacement for top-ranked challenger Arman Tsarukyan, who pulled out of the bout Friday because “of significant back pain” related to an injury, UFC CEO Dana White announced on X.
Makhachev — the UFC's top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter — is one of three fighters who will enter the Octagon from the same Russian gym. Umar Nurmagomedov will try to win the bantamweight championship in the co-main event and Tagir Ulanbekov will compete in a flyweight match.
“This is the biggest night for the team,” Makhachev said.
Makhachev, 33, takes a 26-1 record into the fight that includes a division-record 14-match winning streak. He claimed his first championship Oct. 22, 2022, in a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira. Makhachev since twice defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski and once against Dustin Poirier.
Two of those fights ended before the final bell, and the one that went the distance — the first meeting with Volkanovski — was a unanimous decision.
Tsarukyan said he had been waiting for this opportunity since Makhachev became the champion, hoping that one day he would get his shot. He knew he had some work to do first, working his way up from around a No. 10 ranking.
Now he will have more work and waiting ahead of him.
Moicano, a 35-year-old from Brazil, is 20-5-1 with six victories in his past seven matches. That includes a four-bout winning streak, three of them ending by submission or technical knockout.
“Moicano's been on a tear since moving up to 155 pounds,” White said in his video announcement. "The guy is an absolute savage, and every fight he's in is a war. He weighed in at championship weight as the backup in case something happened, and when we spoke to him this morning, I can tell you, he wants this fight.
“And when I called Islam, Islam said, ‘Brother, I am the champion. I don’t care who it is. I will fight anyone.'”
Moicano posted on X: “Hey guess what I will be world champion tomorrow!”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Islam Makhachev of Russia celebrates after he beats Alex Volkanovski of Australia in the UFC lightweight championship fight during UFC 294, at the Ethihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.
Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.
Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.
Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:
— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”
— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”
— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”
— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.
—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.
Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”
— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”
— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)
