Islam Makhachev makes shock UFC retirement claim hours before Ian Machado Garry title defence

Islam Makhachev has announced his retirement intentions ahead of this evening’s UFC title fight against Ian Machado Garry.

Tonight’s bout will be Makhachev’s first defence of his welterweight title, with the 34-year-old on a near unprecedented 16-fight win streak in the UFC.

The Russian is widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest UFC brawler in sporting history, and a win tonight would set a remarkably strong record.

The 34-year-old’s current win streak of 16 is tied with that of Anderson Silva — a record which has stood for 13 years and is now on the verge of being broken.

Makhachev changed weight classes last year, moving up to welterweight, after breaking another long-standing record: four lightweight title defences.

Dana White described the Russian earlier this week as “on the right path” to being heralded as the greatest in UFC’s history — a title often given to now retired team-mate and coach of Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Makhachev’s record is 29-1, with the solitary loss coming against Brazilian fighter Adriano Martins in 2015, while Khabib boasts a perfect 29-0. Ahead of tonight’s UFC clash, with history on the line, the 34-year-old has revealed his plans for retirement, after a 12-year-long Ultimate Fighting Championship career.

Makhachev discusses retirement timeline ahead of Garry face-off

With so many records already under his belt, and more potentially to be added tonight, the Russian has laid out a retirement timeline ahead of his showdown against Garry.

Speaking to UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, the 34-year-old confessed that he is hoping to appear in more fights, despite being in the latter stage of his esteemed career.

"I'm not like [a] young guy,” confessed Makhachev, candidly. Now it's better for me to fight every three to four months.

"I understand I'm not 28 years old; I'm 34 right now. And I don't have much time. "Sometimes, it's not going like you want in the UFC. You want to fight after three or four months, but it's not according to your wish."

His opponent, Garry, enters having prevailed in 10 of his previous 11 fights, and is hot on the tail of Connor McGregor in making history of his own.

Should the Irishman take down Makhachev, he would hold the most UFC wins of any male fighter in the promotion from their country. He would also become the first Irish champion since McGregor, who Makhachev has held talks with to battle next, albeit in a different fighting format.

The 28-year-old has spoken fondly of his opponent ahead of the bout, describing him as “the greatest lightweight of all time” and proclaiming their showdown as a “fight for history.”

"I have so much love and respect for Islam Makhachev and his body of work that he has done in the UFC,” confessed Garry. There is no other fight I would want to prove that I'm the best in the world.

"I get to fight the greatest lightweight of all time, a two-weight world champion, the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.

"That's why the fight is so interesting. You have got one who focuses mainly on wrestling and grappling, the other who focuses on striking and anti-grappling. This is a fight for history. This is a fight for legacy,” concluded the Irishman.