Islam
Makhachev is settling in nicely at welterweight, which gives
him even more confidence.
Makhachev (28-1) recently revealed that his training camp for his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight debut was
challenging and that he’s better adjusted to the higher weight
class going into his first title defense at 170 pounds. The former
lightweight champ takes on Ian Garry
(17-1) in the main event of UFC
330, which takes place Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in
Philadelphia.
Advertisement
Islam Makhachev details his transition from lightweight
champion to UFC welterweight titleholder
Makhachev was focused primarily on securing the belt rather than
chasing a finish against Jack
Della Maddalena last year. The Russian claims to be more
comfortable going into his second welterweight outing, as he isn’t
lifting weights during camp.
“Now, I feel more comfortable, honestly,” Makhachev told MMA
Junkie. “The first camp, so hard. I just tried to gain weight, do a
lot of lifting program, but this camp I stay at the same weight.
I’m not going to go down. Now, I’m like real welterweight. This
camp I think is more easy, but you can’t say it’s easy, because
we’re not lifting much.”
Makhachev now wants a finish after his title-winning effort came
via decision. Given that his body is more suited to the weight
class, he’s open to taking risks in order to force a stoppage
inside 25 minutes.
“This fight, I will take more risks to finish my opponent, because
I like finishing my opponents,” Makhachev added. “This fight, I
think honestly, from the first time when I take him down, I have a
chance to finish him, because I saw his ground game – it’s not so
good, you know? He has good striking, long reach, long arm, and he
controls the distance, always goes back, but I see when I take him
down, it’s going to be a finish.“