Former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub says the promotion should have stripped UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
The UFC planned for Makhachev to face Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC 336, but Makhachev refused to fight Prates on that date. Instead, the promotion booked Prates against Michael Morales in an interim UFC welterweight title bout.
Schaub, though, believes the UFC should have stripped Makhachev of his belt.
Brendan Schaub Wanted UFC to Strip Islam Makhachev
Speaking on the “Thiccc Boy” podcast, Schaub said that the UFC should have taken Makhachev’s belt for refusing to fight Prates at UFC 336, while also suggesting a controversial opinion that fighters from the Dagestan region of Russia who are Muslim and observe Ramadan are bad for business because they can’t fight in certain months for the UFC.
“Dana goes, ‘Cool, we’re doing an interim title fight,’ they should’ve stripped his (expletive) but they still bend the knee to him. This is why you’ve got to be careful of crowning new champs when they’re from that origin, this is why. They fight once a year, it’s not enough, it’s not good. This is a huge issue, it’s the elephant in the room this is why you can’t have champs of that religion, you can’t run a business off it… It’s just not champion GOAT (expletive),” Schaub said (via Bloody Elbow).
Brendan Schaub Says Islam Makhachev Is Not the GOAT
Although Makhachev has 17 straight wins, which is the longest win streak in UFC history, his decision not to fight Prates at UFC 336 is one of the reasons why Schaub says we cannot label Makhachev as the UFC GOAT.
“This is my number one problem, this is why he’s not the (expletive) GOAT, this is why. It was pretty much cemented, signed, done deal, Islam was supposed to fight Carlos Prates in Toronto, January 30. And then all of a sudden, Islam goes, ‘Nope, Ramadan, I’m not gonna fight him.’ Now you know Dana bends the knee to Dagestani’s… To Dagestani’s he’s like, ‘It’s all good, you fight once a year’, but finally he’s had enough,” Schaub said.
Brendan Schaub: UFC Should Have Stripped Islam Makhachev