Brendan Schaub says Makhachev religion remarks were 'taken out of context'

Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub said on Thursday, Oct. 29, that his remarks about Islam Makhachev's religion were "taken out of context." He was replying on X to a clip from his podcast, Big Brown Breakdown. In it, he said the UFC can't have champions "of that religion" because they fight too rarely.

The same day he released a full episode on the backlash, titled "WAY OFF! This is NOT an APOLOGY!" (GoLoudNow). We found no response from Makhachev, his team or the UFC as of Thursday.

What Schaub said

The MMA account Happy Punch posted the clip early Thursday, and it had passed 500,000 views by later that day. The account framed it as Schaub arguing the UFC can't have Muslim champions. Its post quotes him saying:

"Islam Makhachev decided not to fight because of Ramadan. They should've stripped his ass but Dana bends the knee. This is why you can't have your champs of that religion. … They fight once a f*cking year."

His reply on X began "Oh boy. Here we go." He wrote that "religion isn't the point" and that his point was "you can't build stars if they're not active." He also called the whole rant "dumb cause Islam is already a superstar."

According to the show's description, the new 43-minute episode deals with inactive champions, fighting around Ramadan and how Georges St-Pierre compares.

We think the activity complaint is a fair one to argue, and Dana White has made it himself. Pinning it on a whole religion is what turned a scheduling gripe into a story. Schaub's reply explains his point but doesn't take that line back.

Why Makhachev is waiting

Schaub was reacting to news that Makhachev, the welterweight champion, won't fight in January. White brought up Ramadan after UFC 333 on Saturday, Oct. 24. "He was slated for January, and then said 'I don't want to fight until after Ramadan,'" White said, according to Heavy. "You can't hold up divisions like this."

Makhachev has given a different reason. Carlos Prates lost to Ian Machado Garry, whom Makhachev beat in August, so the champion wants Prates and Michael Morales to fight first. "Just let them fight, and we will figure out who's the real challenger," he said, as reported by MMA Sucka. A January title fight against Prates was expected but never officially announced.

Makhachev is 29-1. He took the title from Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025 and beat Garry by decision at UFC 330 in August. Each fight came nine to ten months after the one before, per his CageOracle page. He closed at −323 against Della Maddalena and −345 against Garry, and he's 11-0 in the UFC fights we have closing odds for.

What comes next

The UFC announced Prates vs. Morales for the interim welterweight title during the UFC 333 broadcast. The fight is set for UFC 336 on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, according to Cageside Press. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around Feb. 8, according to The National.

Prates (24-7) has won three straight by knockout, over Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Della Maddalena. Morales (19-0) hasn't fought since knocking out Sean Brady in the first round in November 2025. The market has Prates as the favourite at about −160, with Morales around +132, roughly 59% to 41% (our fight page).

The winner is expected to face Makhachev later in 2027 to unify the belts, according to Deadspin. BJPenn.com suggests he might not return until mid-to-late 2027, but no date is set.