Islam Makhachev’s Reported UFC 336 Exit Removes the Card’s Clearest Style Anchor

Bloody Elbow reported on Oct. 23 that Islam Makhachev is no longer targeted for the UFC 336 main event on Jan. Bloody Elbow reported that other options are being explored for the January 30 card in Toronto, with the reason for the change unclear.

That removes the promotion’s welterweight champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter from the first reported version of the headliner. It also leaves bettors without the matchup information required to translate the news into a position.

Makhachev is 29-1 and has won 18 of the 19 fights in the PropBetEdge archive. But there is no confirmed UFC 336 opponent, replacement bout or completed matchup attached to this development. The immediate consequence is subtraction, not opportunity: a fighter with one of the most stable control profiles in the sport is no longer available as the card’s analytical anchor.

Makhachev’s control game shapes multiple betting markets

Makhachev’s underlying profile matters because his fights are not driven primarily by open-space striking volume. He averages 3.22 takedowns per 15 minutes with 54 percent career accuracy, while his 19 archived bouts contain 48 landed takedowns and 114 control minutes across 50 rounds.

That structure can touch several markets at once. Repeat entries and prolonged top control can support Makhachev takedown totals while suppressing an opponent’s significant-strike output. They can also consume enough clock to push a fight toward later rounds even when Makhachev remains a submission threat.

His defensive numbers reinforce that dynamic. Makhachev absorbs 1.42 significant strikes per minute, owns 61 percent striking defense and has stopped 91 percent of attempted takedowns. Opponents therefore have struggled both to generate sustained offense at range and to reverse the positional terms of his fights through their own wrestling.