"Just smile and train" - Islam Makhachev says move to welterweight transformed his life and mindset

Islam Makhachev has seemingly found new freedom at 170 pounds. The former lightweight king said the shift to welterweight has changed his entire way of living.

For years, he would undergo the rigorous grind of cutting down to 155. During that process, he would constantly monitor every meal and recovery session. That routine, he admitted, drained the joy out of camp life.

He claimed in a recent interview with ESPN MMA that he walks around at 87 kilos, trains with heavier partners, and has started lifting weights for the first time in years. He has also been using protein and creatine daily to recover faster and gain strength. He said:

“This camp is really hard. I gain weight, I become big, and the opponents and sparring partners are very big. We did our first camp for lifting weights. Everything changed. It became very hard, but now I feel good, just a little jet lag after the flight. We changed many things with the coaches and made a plan. It was very difficult to gain weight, but I finally became a little bit big. I used creatine and protein after every training, tried to eat more, but it’s very hard when you train twice a day."

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He added:

"My life changed when I changed the weight division. Before, I always had to think about what to eat for dinner. Now I can enjoy my camp, eat whatever I want, and just smile and train. I’m much happier now. At 155, it was always difficult, always hard to make weight, and no one who cuts more than ten kilos can ever recover one hundred per cent.”

Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below:

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Islam Makhachev eyes Ilia Topuria clash at UFC’s White House event after UFC 322

Islam Makhachev is already thinking beyond UFC 322. The Dagestani star, who moves up to welterweight to face Jack Della Maddalena on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden, wants to challenge Ilia Topuria at the rumored UFC event at the White House.

A win in New York would make him a two-division champion and tie Anderson Silva’s record of sixteen straight victories. Makhachev believes a showdown with Topuria would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history and a landmark moment for the sport.

Speaking in the aforementioned interview with ESPN MMA, he said:

“He wants to fight in White House, I also want to be there. It’s gonna be big fight for MMA community. If people want this fight, if UFC want this fight, we can do this. I know the UFC wants to do a big fight in the White House. Which fight going to be bigger than this?”

Edited by Abhishek Nambiar