Ahead of the fight, former middleweight division leader Robert Whittaker shared his prediction for the fight.
"I have an understanding of how good Arman Tsarukyan is. But let's look at Islam's last fight and Arman's last fight. Based on them, I feel there is a skill difference between them. Everyone talks about how great Tsarukyan's debut was, that it was still short notice and so on. But look at Islam's level of opposition. This guy is in a good position right now. I find it very hard to imagine Makhachev suffering a defeat," Sherdog quoted Whittaker as saying.