UFC LEGENDS Explain How SCARY Islam Makhachev Really is
He’s the former lightweight champion and pound for pound king of the UFC… a fearsome grappling threat with an astonishingly well-rounded skillset. He’s lethal on the mat, and deadly on the feet. But what do some of Islam Makhachev’s fellow fighters have to say about himself as his ever improving game? Let’s take a closer look!
This is ‘ LEGENDARY Fighters Explain How Scary Islam Makhachev REALLY is. One man who knows a lot more than most about this guy is the former two weight world champion, Daniel Cormier - a man who has been friends and training partners with Islam and his team for quite a long time now.
It’s funny how a wrestler as insanely credentialled and experienced as DC can attest to the sheer strength of a man who is 50 or 60 pounds lighter than him. That’s certainly high praise, especially from a fighter who spent his last years fighting heavyweights.
Cormier has always been very high on Islam, especially in terms of his ability to be a fitting successor to Khabib. But out of all of the fighters we will feature in this video, it’s Khabib Nurmagomedov who truly knows Makhachev to the greatest degree.
To hear Khabib describe his father’s love for Islam as a student is quite a touching tribute. Abdulmanap was incredibly wise when it came to the nurturing of talent, and he very clearly saw something in Makhachev that could be moulded into an elite fighter.
Dustin Poirier gave Islam a far tougher fight than most people would’ve expected… pushing the lightweight champ into the championship rounds.The Diamond did himself proud by the way he managed to make the fight uglier than Islam would’ve preferred… making it a contest that suited him a lot better. But when push came to shove, it was Makhachev who was able to create the moment of magic.
How about getting some insight from Makhachev’s next opponent, the welterweight champion of the world, Jack Della Maddalena, ahead of their highly intriguing showdown at UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden.
Can Islam navigate the weight-difference between the lightweight and welterweight divisions?
And will he be able to handle the power of a boxer like JDM?
When it comes to the idea of taking short-notice replacement opponents, Tom Aspinall is quick to pile on the praise due to Islam’s willingness to take risks. Not all fighters are as open to that type of switch-up. Who would’ve thought that Tom Aspinall was such a diehard Makhachev fan… but hey, I guess he just likes great fighters. As an early-starter with a talent for finishing opponents in the first round, people sometimes forget just how technical Aspinall is… and how his foundational skillset is not actually boxing, but Brazilian jiu jitsu.
Who knows, maybe he’ll have to turn in an Islam-like performance before too long. He might have had one of MMA’s most intense beefs in recent history with his training partner Khabib, but Tony Ferguson has a surprising amount of respect for Makhachev’s pedigree. Whether he’s just taking shots at Khabib by favouring his long-time training partner or not, Tony is as charismatic as ever when talking about Islam.
When you have a legitimate G.O.A.T candidate like Georges St-Pierre singing your praises, you know you’re something special.Georges St-Pierre came into the game with very little in the way of a wrestling background - but somehow naturally evolved into one of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace up 4oz gloves and fight in mixed martial arts.
Michael Chandler is experienced enough to know greatness when he sees it, and though they never shared the octagon together, Chandler is certain that Islam definitely fits that description. Sure, like many others, he was a little sceptical at first… and understandably so, given that it took Makhachev a very long time to break through into the top level.
But when he did, the talent on display was simply undeniable. Though he will never share the cage with Islam due to the differences in weight, that hasn’t stopped the former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley from having nightmares about the idea of fighting this Dagestani destroyer. And finally, how about a word from the iconic commentator himself, Joe Rogan.
Rogan has been a huge fan of Islam ever since he debuted in the UFC - sharing the opinion that it was taking way too long for him to get the type of fights he needed in order to ascend to the top of the division. But Joe has been around for so long that he has seen many, many generations of great fighters come and go… and like many of us, watching this wrestler head-kick one of the greatest strikers of his era, Alexander Volkanovski, in the very first round was a different level of shocking. That’s when we all figured out that Makhachev is reaching a totally new level.
| UFC 322 Media Day
