Dana White is not happy with Islam Makhachev right now. The UFC CEO says the welterweight champion was originally lined up to defend his title in January, then pulled back and told the promotion he wants to wait until after Ramadan next year to return.

According to sherdog.com, blognoticiasemdestaque.com and sports.yahoo.com, all of whom have the story, White says Makhachev gave no real explanation for walking away from the January date. He put it bluntly, saying Makhachev told the promotion he does not want to fight until after Ramadan.

Rather than sit on the title picture, the UFC has booked Carlos Prates against Michael Morales for interim welterweight gold at UFC 336: Van vs. Kape on January 30, 2027. Prates, ranked number two in the division, enters as a -159 favorite, with our own model giving him a 59 percent edge. He is coming off a statement win, stopping Jack Della Maddalena with elbows in the third round back in May. Morales, ranked number three and sitting at +145, gets 41 percent on our model's number. He carries a 1671 Elo rating built from seven bouts, while Prates sits at 1620 across nine.

Makhachev holds a 1629 Elo mark across seven bouts, with his most recent outing a unanimous decision win over Ian Machado Garry back in August. That win is exactly the kind of form that makes his extended absence sting more for a division White clearly wants moving.

Carlos Prates has already reacted publicly to the news involving Makhachev's shifting status, according to sports.yahoo.com, though the specifics of what he said have not been detailed. Fans are weighing in too, with a thread on r/MMA built around White's comments and Makhachev's reported line about waiting until after Ramadan drawing plenty of discussion. For now, the interim belt is the path forward, and Prates vs. Morales will decide who holds it until Makhachev is ready to show back up.