Photo: UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (Credit: News Dagestan/WikiCommons)
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has officially seized the pound-for-pound throne. On October 31, the Russian surpassed heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the men’s rankings, 17 days after a knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294.
Makhachev follows in the footsteps of his mentor partner, Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former UFC lightweight champ who became pound-for-pound world number 1 after a successful title defence in his 2020 retirement fight.
After beating featherweight titleholder Volkanovski for the second time on October 21 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Makhachev initially jumped to number 2 in the rankings, surpassing Volkanovski, who dropped to No. 3 but remained underneath Jones.
Makhachev has defended the title twice, both times against Volkanovski, since capturing it with the submission of former champion Charles Oliveira in October 2022. Makhachev has won 13 in a row, which is the longest winning streak in UFC lightweight history (tied with Nurmagomedov). Makhachev is expected to defend his belt next in a rematch against Oliveira, though no date has been set.
Briton Adam Azim is the new European light-welterweight champion after stopping Franck Petitjean in round ten of their fight in Wolverhampton on November 18.
The 21-year-old rising star produced an empathic performance, dropping the defending champion in the fifth with a body shot. Petitjean, 35, beat the count but his corner threw in the towel in the tenth after he went for a second time. Azim improves his record to 10 wins and seven stoppages.
The Englishman hopes to emulate his idol Amir Khan by becoming a world champion by the age of 22. He will turn 22 next July. “I’m feeling amazing,” Azim said after the win. “I want to thank my team and the main man Shane McGuigan for getting me to this point.
“He [Petitjean] was really tough, I knew I couldn’t stop him in the early rounds, this was a development fight for me. I had to chop the tree down and I did that. I could have gone another 15 rounds then.”
Former WBA super-flyweight champion Khalid “Kal” Yafai has retired after losing against Jonathan Rodriguez. Rodriguez put Yafai on the canvas twice before the referee stopped the contest in round one at YouTube Theater, Inglewood in California on November 18.
Briton Yafai, 34, was the WBA super-flyweight champion between 2016 and 2022. “This was the end before the fight anyway,” Yafai told DAZN after his defeat. Pointing at the inner lining of his shorts, Yafai added: “I had it on here ‘the last dance’, I had it engraved in my shorts. I knew I was coming to the end anyway.”
Wahab Riaz, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has been appointed the new chief selector of the senior men’s team. His appointment comes not long after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from the position amid conflict-of-interest allegations and in the wake of widespread changes in the set-up at the end of a below-par ODI World Cup campaign.
Wahab, who retired from international cricket in August, will start his new post ahead of the three-match Test series in Australia to be played in December-January, which will be followed by a five-match T20I series in New Zealand in January.
Though he hasn’t formally retired from franchise cricket, his PSL team, Peshawar Zalmi, posted a tweet on November 17 thanking Wahab for his “exceptional services to the team”, adding, “Thank you for your countless contributions over the past 8 years, and you will always remain an integral part of the Zalmi family”.
