Islam Makhachev accepts Jordan Burroughs' callout with one condition

Islam Makhachev has accepted a challenge from Olympic wrestling gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, though the UFC welterweight champion made clear that any matchup would take place inside the Octagon under MMA rules. Burroughs, competing at RAF Moscow, dominated Magomed Kurbanaliev with a tech fall victory in under 90 seconds and immediately called out Makhachev for a wrestling match in Russia. "Islam, where are you? Hey, I came to your country, to your capital city, and tech-fall'd one of your champions. I will be back to Russia very soon and the only person I want to share the stage with is Islam," Burroughs said in his post-fight interview. Makhachev responded graciously, congratulating Burroughs and acknowledging his legendary status in wrestling. However, the Dagestani made his condition explicit, replying: "Congrats on your win legend. In the cage, anywhere anytime." The response suggests Makhachev is open to facing Burroughs but only under mixed martial arts rules rather than pure wrestling. While several active UFC fighters including Khamzat Chimaev, Arman Tsarukyan, and Sean Brady have competed in RAF grappling events, Makhachev has not participated in any such matches during his UFC tenure, making his willingness to engage with Burroughs noteworthy—provided the bout occurs in the cage.