Islam Makhachev is considered one of the brightest rising stars in the lightweight division. With a grappling-based style (and Russian-Muslim heritage) reminiscent of his mentor, former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is dominating opponents.
Makhachev is set to finally take on Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 267. The highly anticipated fight will take place on the undercard for Blachowicz vs Texeira. The bout may well be a title elimination fight, with the winner set to take on either champion Charles Oliveira or number one contender Dustin Poirier in the near future.
RDA: Khabib and Cormier Overhyping Islam Makhachev
Although they’ve been scheduled to fight before, Rafael dos Anjos is unimpressed by Makhachev.
He told AG Fight that he believes Khabib and American Kickboxing Academy coach Daniel Cormier are over-hyping Makhachev. RDA even compared Makhachev to Beneil Dariush, who recently demolished Tony Ferguson on the Oliveira vs Chandler undercard.
“We’ve been talking nonsense on the internet, but finally let’s settle the score. It will be a good fight to put me in the mix, especially now that he’s got the hype all over him. I’ll show you that I’m alive, that I’m still in the game. I have complete confidence that I will beat Makhachev.
When you have guys like Khabib in the corner, Cormier talking all the time, it creates even more hype.
I even give Dariush as an example. He beat the same guys as Makhachev, even better, he was more convincing, but nobody talks about him. He beat Thiago (Moises) and went to fifth in the ranking.”
Islam Makhachev has repeatedly been promoted as heir apparent to Khabib’s legacy. When Khabib retired, he boasted an MMA record of 29-0. He’d never been defeated and left the sport at the top of his game. Many consider Khabib Nurmagomedov to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, a dominant grappler with formidable striking and submissions.
Whether anybody could live up to such lofty expectations is doubtful. RDA recently told ESPN that “Islam doesn’t want to fight five rounds. That was my request, but it didn’t work out. So, fine. Let’s do three then. He’s been talking a lot of crap — let’s see who is who now.” Whether the fight will even start a third round is another story entirely considering Makhachev’s prodigious finishing rate.
Whether Makhachev can bear the weight of Khabib’s legacy or not, his upcoming fight against Rafael dos Anjos will surely be one to watch. Makhachev is on an eight-fight win streak, one which dos Anjos will be looking to end in decisive fashion.
Do you agree with RDA? Is Islam Makhachev overrated thanks to the Cormier and Khabib hype machine? Let us know in the comments.
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