Welcome to the welterweight division, Islam Makhachev.
UFC 322 goes down this weekend with two massive world title fights.
Former pound-for-pound king and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev relinquished his 155 lb title earlier this year in pursuit of becoming a two-division champion at 170 lbs.
Makhachev challenges welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena in the highly-anticipated main event while Zhang Weili goes for her second belt against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in the co-headliner.
A lot has been made of Makhachev moving weight classes. The 27-1 UFC star is taking creatine for the first time in his career and his physique looks better than ever ahead of his welterweight debut.
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Islam Makhachev is in massive shape for UFC 322 title fight
Makhachev is putting in his last training sessions before he meets Della Maddalena on Saturday.
Just days away, Makhachev’s teammate and current PFL Champion Usman Nurmagomedov shared a video on Instagram of how Makhachev is looking in the gym.
Makhachev was noticeably bigger and his incredible physique surely grabbed the fans’ attention.
“He’s thicker than JDM,” one fan reacted on X.
“Good old creatine,” another fan said of Makhachev’s physique.
“Bro is looking like a unit,” another fan wrote.
Islam Makhachev talks about taking creatine for the first time
Creatine, a natural compound that comes from amino acids, is used by many athletes to help with muscle growth and energy supply.
Makhachev says creatine is working wonders for him.
“I finally become a little bit big now,” Makhachev told ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto.
“I use, like, creatine, protein after every training. You try to eat more.
“But it’s very hard when you train twice a day. When you’re training hard, it’s very hard to gain weight.
“I use creatine first time ever in my life,” Makhachev added.
“I use almost every day, and it’s like the first supplement which I feel something’s changed [for me].
“It gives you [the ability to] recover very fast, help you to gain weight and give you some power,” said Makhachev.