Islam Makhachev said this week he has already begun the basic stage of preparation for his next fight, even though there is still no signed deal in place. The UFC lightweight-turned-welterweight champion said the opponent is known only verbally, not on paper, as the promotion works toward an August return for him.
"The opponent is known verbally, but there are no confirmed agreements or signed contracts at the moment," Makhachev said. "But I have already started my basic stage of preparation."
Dana White has said the plan is for Makhachev to fight in August, and Ariel Helwani and Álvaro Colmenero have reported that the UFC is hoping to match him with Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. That card is expected to mark the promotion's return to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The timing matters because Makhachev is not treating the next bout like an open-ended negotiation. He is already in motion, while the matchup itself remains informal. If the UFC closes the deal, Garry would bring a strong recent run into the fight as the No. 2 contender in the official welterweight rankings.
Garry last fought in November, when he beat Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision. In April, he handed Carlos Prates his first UFC loss, and Prates is now scheduled to headline UFC Perth against Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday. Garry also owns Shavkat Rakhmonov's lone career loss, which came at UFC 310 before Rakhmonov was removed from the rankings because of knee surgery.
Makhachev enters the discussion as the UFC's top pound-for-pound male fighter and the newly crowned welterweight champion after dominating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. For now, though, the most important detail is also the simplest: the camp has started, the opponent has not been signed, and the calendar is already pushing toward August.