Former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub believes the organization should have stripped UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev of his title. The promotion initially scheduled Makhachev to headline UFC 336 against Carlos Prates, but Makhachev declined the matchup for that specific date.
UFC 336 Changes and Schaub’s Reaction
Following Makhachev’s refusal, the promotion arranged an interim UFC welterweight title fight between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales instead. Speaking on the “Thiccc Boy” podcast, Schaub expressed his view that the organization should have taken the belt away from Makhachev, as reported by Bloody Elbow. Schaub also voiced a controversial opinion regarding fighters from the Dagestan region of Russia who observe Ramadan, claiming their restricted availability affects business operations.
“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.
Disputing Makhachev’s GOAT Status
Makhachev currently holds 17 consecutive victories, marking the longest active win streak in the history of the promotion. However, Schaub pointed to the canceled bout with Prates as a key reason why the champion cannot be considered the greatest of all time.
“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 stated.
