Islam Makhachev’s new physique stuns UFC fans ahead of welterweight fight

In just over one month, in the main event of UFC 322, Islam Makhachev will fight at 170 pound for the very first time in his career, and the UFC welterweight title will be on the line. The dominant Russian, who vacated his lightweight title earlier this year after defeating Renato Moicano, will challenge reigning champion Jack Della Maddalena, who shocked the world at UFC 315 by defeating Belal Muhammad in one of the best fights of 2025 so far.

Despite seemingly having a super-fight with Ilia Topuria on the table at 155lbs, Makhachev opted to vacate his title and move up in weight after breaking the record for the most consecutive title defences in the division’s history, surpassing legends such as BJ Penn, and of course, his close friend, now coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Although Makhachev is considered pound-for-pound the best fighter in all of MMA he is not necessarily guaranteed to succeed at welterweight. Despite being a big and strong physical force at 155, the welterweight division is a tougher challenge with much bigger fighters, and fans have naturally worried about Makhachev’s size and if he will be able to translate against bigger fighters.

Despite fans voicing some concerns around Makhachev’s size heading into UFC 322, the Russian was recently pictured in a video uploaded to social media, and he has put on some serious size.

Islam Makhachev Looking Huge Ahead of Welterweight Move

If you were worried about Islam Makhachev potentially being too small to be successful in the UFC’s welterweight division, don’t be, as the Russian is looking absolutely huge ahead of his debut at 170lbs at UFC 322.

In a brand-new video, which was posted to social media, Makhachev was seen grappling with a friend on a beach, and he is visibly considerably bigger than he used to be when competing at 155lbs. He is absolutely ripped, and although he will, of course, have to go through a weight cut in order to get down to 170lbs, he should be able to carry his main strengths up a division.

Check out the video of Makhachev’s new physique below:

Fans were impressed with Makhachev’s physique. “JDM is going to tap in under two minutes,” one fan wrote on X. “That d’arc switch is crazy,” another said, praising his technique despite his new weight. One of the most-liked comments meanwhile read: “No kidding; Makhachev’s looking stacked! Moving up to welterweight clearly suits him, and if his power scales with that extra size, things could get dangerous at UFC 322.”

Although Jack Della Maddalena will have both a height and reach advantage over Makhachev, those may be redundant, as looking at the size of the Russian, it seems he could be set to adopt a grappling-heavy approach.