Former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege, Islam Makhachev, currently rules the roost at 155 pounds. Nurmagomedov recently discussed his predictions for Makhachev’s reign as champion with Red Corner MMA, stating that he expects to see his teammate and fellow Dagestani defend the title five to six times over the course of the next few years.
“I think he needs at least five. Maybe six. That would be ideal. Six defenses, that’s six fights and three years. Then it’s possible that the sport leaves him because nobody can stay on top forever.
Khabib Expects Makhachev To Make 5-6 Title Defenses
The way the almighty created a man, he first becomes strong then weak. He’s young then he’s old. Knowing that, the goal is five-six defenses.”
Nurmagomedov’s three lightweight title defenses has him holding the all-time record, tied with B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar, and Benson Henderson. Makhachev, now 31 years old, is in his athletic prime, and may well have a few years to beat his mentor’s record.
Most importantly, Khabib feels that his prediction honors one made by his father a long time ago. Once upon a time, Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap, also coach to Khabib and Islam, claimed that the best lightweights in the world were Russian. Now, both the UFC and Bellator have Russian champions at lightweight.
“My father always said this. We had the best lightweights in Russia for 15 years pro and amateur. In the last few years, we stepped on the world stage. First I won then Islam then Usman. Now they’ll defend their titles. They have some serious competition. We’ll hold on to these belts for five-six years.
Watch my interview from 2013. I said that Russia would have a lot of belts in five-six years. At that moment, it didn’t seem real. We can have a champion in the morning. Petr [Yan] was a champion, Zabit [Magomedsharipov] was close, Askar Askarov was close, [Sergei] Pavlovich is close. Many guys already became champions and can become champions in the future. I think Russian MMA fighters will completely dominate in a couple years.”
Islam Makhachev’s first title defense will come against featherweight champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, who is moving up a weight class in an attempt to claim a second UFC title. The fight will take place in February on Volkanovksi’s home turf in Australia.
Do you think Islam can claim the record for lightweight title defenses? Let us know in the comments.
