He grew up in the shadow of the legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, with a calm but confident pace. Five years after the retirement of his mentor, who never lost a single MMA fight in his career, Islam Makhachev is now ready to join him in the closed circle of stars of this discipline. All he needs is a win against Jack Della Maddalena, on a Saturday to Sunday night in New York, hours after the Benoît Saint Denis fight.
The route is running well. UFC lightweight champion since his victory against Charles Oliveira in October 2022, this fighter from Dagestan has never lost his title. However, he left it vacant last January, after his fourth title defense win against Brazilian Renato Moicano, to try his luck in the above category.
“Islam really beats everyone in this division,” explained his manager Ali Abdelaziz. Dan Hooker, Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira. He is on a 15-fight winning streak and has finished nine of his last ten opponents. There is no one more deserving of a second title fight than Makhachev. »
“One of the best MMA fighters”
Another reason may lie in its weight. The reason is, the former lightweight champion (-70 kg) is increasingly having difficulty losing the weight needed to exceed the permitted limit. He is now entitled to gain an additional seven kilograms, and even allow himself to develop his body to be more efficient.
And for his arrival at welterweight (-77 kg), the UFC presented a very tough challenge for Islam Makhachev: a fight against new champion Jack Della Maddalena. An elite boxer, accustomed to the category, who hopes to defend his crown but is wary of his opponent.
“Islam is more than just a wrestler, he is a complete fighter, one of the best in MMA. I think he has clearly improved in all areas, especially in striking (standing fighting),” the Australian said on compatriot Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel.
If he wins, the Dagestan tennis player can enter a very closed circle: that of the UFC double champion. Only ten fighters have achieved this in more than 30 years of the prestigious American league’s existence. Conor McGregor is on this list, as are Georges Saint-Pierre, Jon Jones, Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira. Only world stars, mixed martial arts legends Makhachev wants to follow.
