Makhachev Injury Throws Abu Dhabi Plans In Doubt

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Makhachev was expected to defend his lightweight title in Abu Dhabi this October. That may not happen due to a ligament tear in his hand.

Islam Makhachev is suffering from a hand injury that may keep him from an expected October fight date in Abu Dhabi.

While nothing has officially been announced, reports have Makhachev penciled in to fight Arman Tsarukyan on the UFC’s annual pay-per-view in the United Arab Emirates. But we’ll have to see whether a ligament tear in his hand heals quickly enough.

“After the fight my fist hurt a lot, a lot of things hurt,” Makhachev told Ushatayka in a new interview. “We’ll take time, everything is healing little by little. But my hand continues to bother me. An MRI recently confirmed that I have a partial ligament tear. let’s see if I can recover. If not, I may even have to have surgery.”

Islam Makhachev reveals a hand injury that could potentially keep him out for the rest of the year:

"An MRI recently confirmed that I have a partial ligament tear. Let's see if I can recover. If not, I might even have to have surgery...

It is questionable [that I fight in… pic.twitter.com/h1LckjReRP

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 28, 2024

“Well, it is questionable,” he said of the Abu Dhabi show. “We haven’t talked about the fight yet. I am doing rehabilitation every day now and we’ll see how the hand goes.”

If not October, Islam still wants to compete before the start of 2025. He’d previously asked to fight on the UFC’s upcoming November event at Madison Square Garden.

“I really want to perform before the end of the year,” he said. “I plan to, too. So far I haven’t even thought about not performing. But I want to come in shape, prepared, so that nothing bothers me. Before the last fight, there were also a lot of minor injuries, everything accumulated. And I want to give my body time to recover.”