On Tuesday, Dana White announced that Makhachev was vacating his lightweight championship in a bid to move up and collect UFC gold in a new weight class. Though no official date or location was announced, Makhachev will challenge newly minted welterweight world titleholder Jack Della Maddalena later this year.

With a win over JDM, Makhachev will become one of the few fighters in UFC history to claim titles in two different divisions and take one giant step towards solidifying himself as one of, if not the greatest ,fighter in promotional history.

"It was kind of almost mutual," Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told Submission Radio while discussing the former lightweight champ's decision to move up. "You know, Islam is going to move up. He did everything. He beat Charles Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker, most of the guys in the top 10 or 15. He's on a 15-fight winning streak, finished nine of his last ten opponents. The only thing he's not doing in the division is putting people in body bags...

"Now, his dream is always to have two titles, right? When you go ahead and do this, you get a chance to fight for the welterweight title. This is what makes your legacy great. If Islam goes up there and defends this title three times, he's the greatest of all time. He'll break Anderson Silva's record... He's building a great legacy for himself, and you can't blame the guy."

As a result of Makhachev's move from 155 to 170, former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 on Saturday, June 27, during International Fight Week for the vacant lightweight crown.

Makhachev and Topuria were long linked to a lightweight clash, but with Della Maddalen's defeat of Belal Muhammad this weekend, the 'Dagestani Destroyer' ultimately opted to move up, depriving us of an intriguing showdown between himself and 'El Matador.'