Just days from making the first defense of his welterweight championship at UFC 330, one shadow, that of Khabib Nurmagomedov, continues to hang over Islam Makhachev’s career in the mind of many MMA fans.
On Saturday, Makhachev will defend the welterweight title he won from Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 against rising contender Ian Machado Garry. Prior to becoming welterweight champion, Makhachev held the lightweight championship, winning the title at UFC 280 and making four successful defenses of the belt.
Makhachev trained under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of Khabib, and has credited the father and son for helping “make him,” with Abdulmanap telling Makhachev that he would be champion if he trained hard.
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Over the years, Khabib has become something of a mythological figure in the MMA world. Nurmagomedov retired with an undefeated 29-0 record and while holding the UFC lightweight championship, a decision fueled by the death of his father. Abdulmanap’s goal had been for Nurmagomedov to hit 30-0, but Nurmagomedov stated he made a commitment to his mother to not continue fighting without his father.
The “what ifs” of Nurmagomedov’s sudden retirement, combined with his dominance in the Octagon, place him in a unique spot in the history of the sport.
Islam Makhachev closing in on G.O.A.T. conversation with plenty still to accomplish ahead of UFC 330
Brian Campbell
But Makhachev’s current run has placed him in a similar place of dominance at the championship level and raises the question of not only if Makhachev can surpass Nurmagomedov in the sport, but if Makhachev has already done so.
Interestingly, Makhachev enters Saturday’s fight with Garry with 29 career fights, the same number as Nurmagomedov had when he stepped away from active competition.
Unlike Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has experienced defeat in his career. In just his second UFC fight — and the 13th of his professional career — Makhachev was knocked out by Adriano Martins. Martins has gone just 1-6 since defeating Makhachev. Even viewing the Martins loss as the fluke it appears to be in hindsight, it was the kind of fluke that never happened in Nurmagomedov’s career.
Nurmagomedov had 13 UFC fights, serving as the main event just four times, all four of those main events representing Nurmagomedov’s four fights for UFC gold.
Nurmagomedov vs. Makhachev tale of the tape
| Khabib Nurmagomedov | Islam Makhachev | |
|---|---|---|
|
13 |
UFC wins |
17* |
|
Lightweight |
Title(s) |
Lightweight, welterweight |
|
3 |
Title defenses |
4 |
|
Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje |
Best wins |
Alexander Volkanovski (x2), Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Jack Della Maddalena |
| 91% | Takedown success rate | 84% |
Makhachev has fought 18 times inside the Octagon, including eight times in the main event. He also has two more title fight victories than Nurmagomedov, holding a 6-0 record heading into Saturday. Makhachev also has held titles in two weight classes, compared to Nurmagomedov’s single run as lightweight champion.
Of course, Nurmagomedov also holds the distinction of being the winner in arguably the biggest fight in UFC history, submitting Conor McGregor in their legendary UFC 229 showdown. While Makhachev has huge victories over legends such as Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira and a pair of wins over Alexander Volkanovski, nothing on his resume matches Nurmagomedov’s iconic win over McGregor and all of the surrounding drama.
While Nurmagomedov and Makhachev come from the same combat sambo background in Dagestan, both with their careers guided by Nurmagomedov’s father, they are not the same fighter.
Makhachev is the more well-rounded fighter, at least in terms of application of techniques in the Octagon. Nurmagomedov rarely needed to step outside of his hyper-dominant grappling game to run through opponents. Nurmagomedov took fighters down and used a combination of strikes and positional advancement to set up submissions or simply grind out one-sided decision wins.
Makhachev is comfortable standing and engaging in striking exchanges, as seen in his fights with Volkanovski and Poirier. That’s not to say that the core of Makhachev’s game isn’t grappling. He executes takedowns at roughly the same rate as Nurmagomedov, whose takedowns per 15 minutes stat is inflated by his 21 takedown performance against Abel Trujillo, and is actually slightly more efficient, with a takedown accuracy of 91% compared to 84% for Nurmagomedov in their UFC careers.
Ultimately, the difference between Makhachev and Nurmagomedov is inconsequential. Both are dominant fighters within their era. Makhachev’s loss and the mystique created by Nurmagomedov’s win over McGregor and early retirement while still the top fighter in the sport will always tint how some view the fighters, but Makhachev has the chance to provide continued longevity at the top of the sport while laying claim to being a multi-division champion.
Saturday will either continue to build Makhachev’s still growing legend, or it will represent another speed bump in his career, though not one as shocking in retrospect as the loss to Martins back in 2015.
