Hunter Campbell is famous for signing fights in unusual places. After weeks of on-and-off negotiations, he managed to track down Jon Jones and talk him into signing a contract to fight Stipe Miocic … in the parking lot of a muffler shop.
This latest location is a bit more posh but no less extreme: now Dana White’s right hand man is in Dubai trying to unravel the giant mess the lightweight and welterweight divisions find themselves in as lightweight champion Islam Makhachev resists fighting featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Islam is done fighting whoever the UFC wants to put in front of him. He fought Alexander Volkanovski twice, Dustin Poirier cuz there was no one else available at the time, and Renato Moicano last-minute after Arman Tsarukyan pulled out. It’s solid work, but it isn’t a resume that will set Makhachev apart as a legend amongst UFC champions.
Now the UFC wants Islam to fight another former featherweight champion, and he is not interested. He wants to move up to welterweight, but also doesn’t want to fight current welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
What a mess.
Now Campbell is in Dubai to try and straighten things out. A new photo shows the UFC CBO with Makhachev’s head coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and manager Rizvan Magomedov (plus infamous McGregor sucker-puncher Zubaira Tukhugov). What else could Hunter be in town for other than to figure out who’s fighting who and what needs to be offered to make it happen.
A solution needs to be figured out fast. UFC 317 is on June 28th, less than two months away. Reports have Ilia Topuria back in training camp, so things are moving. It feels like Makhachev has boxed himself in: he doesn’t want to fight Ilia, and he doesn’t want to fight Belal. Something’s gotta give. What will give is up to Hunter and his negotiating skills.