Top UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev predicts he will fight current champion Charles Oliveira for the title at the end of this year in Abu Dhabi.
Makhachev will fight No.3 ranked Beneil Dariush on February 26 in a fight that will likely produce the next challenger for the 155-pound title.
Oliveira is scheduled to defend his belt against former interim champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7, with the winner of that fight potentially facing Makhachev or Dariush later this year.
Makhachev has seemingly backed Oliveira to defend his belt against Gaethje, as the Russian has predicted he will fight - and beat - Oliveira by the end of 2022.
"Charles Oliveira is champion now and he showed good skills [in] his last two fights. That's why I think the end of this year, I'm gonna beat him, in Abu Dhabi," he told Red Corner MMA.
The UFC has frequently visited Abu Dhabi since the Covid-19 pandemic made it problematic for the promotion to host regular events in North America.
Makhachev competed at the UFC's most recent card in Abu Dhabi, tapping out Dan Hooker in the first round at UFC 267 last October.
The Russian is unbeaten in his last nine UFC fights and will look to make it 10 in a row against Dariush, who is also unbeaten in seven fights.
A protege of now-retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is a fierce grappler who finished all three opponents he faced in 2021.
And Nurmagomedov said before Oliveira's title defence against Dustin Poirier last December that Makhachev and Dariush should be competing for the undisputed belt.
"I believe Islam and Dariush deserve to fight for the title right now," Nurmagomedov told ESPN. "But we have some big names at lightweight, you can't say no to Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje, they have very big names.
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"But as fighters, in my opinion, these two guys are better than Dustin or Justin. That's just my opinion, they have big names and we know in this game sometimes a nine-fight win streak is not enough to fight for the title.
"Sometimes you have to build your name and Beneil and Islam is truly, 100 per cent a No.1 contender fight."
Makhachev earned a $50,000 performance bonus for his recent win against Hooker and - according to Nurmagomedov - that could be doubled if he receives the same award against Dariush.
"If Islam beats Dariush, the UFC told him he's going to fight for the title," he continued. "They told him that if he gets the finish he'll get a double bonus, which is very interesting, this is private news."
