Joe Rogan questions whether UFC welterweight power is the right test for Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev is being discussed less as a matchup for one specific challenger and more as a yardstick for the division’s future. In comments highlighted by Yahoo Sports on Aug. 17, Joe Rogan said he is not sure Makhachev can handle welterweights, using a vivid analogy about “nuclear power” to describe the scale of pressure he expects from the next crop of 170-pound fighters. The point was not a prediction of a definitive outcome, but a question about whether the champion’s strengths translate cleanly across a weight class where power is often paired with volume.

Rogan’s framing matters because Makhachev has been defined in UFC conversations by control, pace management, and the ability to impose a wrestling-and-grappling game over time. Moving into welterweight territory changes the nature of those problems. Even without naming a single opponent, the idea behind Rogan’s comment is that the threat profile at 170 pounds can be different, with fighters often arriving with more muscle mass and, crucially, a style of athletic pressure that forces opponents to defend for longer stretches.

The UFC’s welterweight scene has long been treated as a collision point between multiple fighting schools: high-output strikers, wrestlers who can turn takedowns into positional dominance, and hybrid threats that can change the fight’s shape quickly. When a broadcast voice like Rogan says he is “curious to see” how Makhachev handles the “next crop” of contenders, it indicates a broader audience question that goes beyond the champion’s current run. In other words, the conversation becomes about what kind of ceiling the division’s challengers can realistically impose.

For Makhachev, any hypothetical test at welterweight would also raise the practical question of how much of his game is built on advantages that can shrink with a step up in weight. Wrestling control and grappling efficiency do not disappear, but fighters generally face a new set of entry risks, new levels of strength in clinches, and different angles of defense when they work against larger bodies. Rogan’s “nuclear power” phrasing suggests he expects welterweights to bring a kind of sustained force that can swamp opponents’ comfort zones rather than give them predictable windows to work.

At the same time, it is important to keep expectations grounded. Rogan’s remarks, as presented by Yahoo Sports, are analysis and curiosity, not an announcement from the UFC or confirmation of a specific next fight. There is no official matchup detail in the available reporting, and there are no supported specifics here about target dates, opponents, or contract-driven constraints. The most accurate takeaway is that mainstream MMA media is testing the premise of “champion versus the next weight-class question” in a way fans can understand.

What to watch next is not only whether the UFC moves toward any welterweight crossover storyline involving Makhachev, but also which contenders emerge as the best representatives of that “next crop” Rogan referenced. If the title picture evolves into a situation where the champion’s adaptability across weight classes is truly on the table, this type of commentary will serve as a kind of barometer for how the sport’s most visible voices believe the stylistic gap will be measured.

If the UFC keeps Makhachev focused at lightweight, these comments still function as a reminder that welterweight depth is shaping how people evaluate pound-for-pound candidates. In a sport where one weight class’s strengths can become another class’s vulnerabilities, Rogan’s concern underlines a simple question: can the champion’s control-based identity survive a division built to disrupt control through power and pressure?

Until the UFC confirms any specific bout, Rogan’s “nuclear power” language remains a rhetorical probe. But in MMA, rhetorical probes often foreshadow the arguments that take over fight week the moment matchups get real.