By FCF Staff

It looks like Islam Makhachev will not return to action before the year is up. As his longtime teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov is reporting the UFC’s lightweight champ has accepted a fight for January.

Following Makhachev’s submission win over Dustin Poirier in June, the expectation was he would face Arm Tsarukyan this fall, possibly at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. But, Makhachev proceeded to reveal he was dealing with a ligament issue in his hand and the match-up has yet to be announced.

More recently, Nurmagomedov spoke with media during a trip in Indonesia. When asked about Makhachev, the former lightweight champ reported this (quote via MMA Fighting.com).

“UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it,” Nurmagomedov revealed during an appearance in Indonesia this past weekend (video via Ushatayka).

The 32-year-old Makhachev (26-1), who defeated Tsarukyan (22-3) by decision in 2019, has defended the lightweight title three times.