Islam Makhachev has always done a fine job of emulating Khabib Nurmagomedov. Both fighters were forged in Dagestan, made it to the UFC, won the lightweight title, became pound-for-pound No 1, and gave up the belt in their prime. The question now is whether Makhachev has in fact surpassed his childhood friend.
Five years after Khabib vacated the strap, retiring as champion after the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has relinquished the title. The difference in the latter’s case is that he is not done fighting; the gleam of welterweight gold has caught his eye, and like a Magpie, Makhachev has been drawn to it – and so a title shot awaits later this year.
Regardless, the end of each Russian’s reign saw him keep his word. For Khabib, retiring meant honouring a promise to his grieving mother. For Makhachev, a move up to welterweight could only occur because his friend Belal Muhammad lost the belt.
Khabib ended his career aged 32, shockingly, while Makhachev might turn 34 by the time he challenges for the 170lb title. Khabib achieved three successful title defences at lightweight, a joint-record, before Makhachev broke it with four.
The friends even have a shared opponent: Dustin Poirier, whom both submitted to retain the title – Khabib in 2019, Makhachev last June. If you want to compare them based on their respective showings against the “Diamond”, Khabib secured the finish in round three to cap off a dominant performance, while Makhachev submitted the American in the fifth and final round, having engaged in a striking shootout for much of the bout (in which he was always one step ahead, truthfully).
That brings us to their skillsets. Nurmagomedov, now 36, was one of the greatest examples of complete mastery in one field, so much so that his deficiencies elsewhere were rendered irrelevant. The UFC had never seen such suffocating, indefatigable wrestling before Khabib began providing routine exhibitions of that Dagestani style. However, his striking was at times almost humorously ungainly.
That said, it only ever needed to be good enough to set up his wrestling, and the threat of the latter skill kept opponents on edge to the extent that Khabib could land strikes in spite of his technique. The most iconic example came against Conor McGregor, when Khabib feinted a takedown attempt only to launch an overhand at the Irishman, dropping the striking specialist to his backside. It is also worth noting that Khabib’s striking did improve slightly over time.
Nevertheless, it does not touch Makhachev’s. While Makhachev’s wrestling is essentially as effective as Khabib’s, his kickboxing is leagues above. There was a time when Makhachev, 33, was deemed “an underrated striker” but not an outright great one; that time has passed, as proven by Makhachev winning the majority of his striking exchanges with Poirier, one of the UFC’s best boxers.
In fact, these specific skill levels lead one to wonder who would’ve won between Khabib and Makhachev, who no doubt shared hundreds of sparring rounds over the years, but who would never have faced each other in the Octagon (just as Makhachev waited for Muhammad to lose the 170lb, his plan at 155lb was always to wait for Khabib to leave the division before going for gold). Makhachev, one could imagine, would have the tools to neutralise his friend-turned-coach’s greatest strength and exploit his glaring weakness.
Some will point to each man’s record, specifically how Khabib achieved the rarest feat in MMA: staying unbeaten, and at the elite level, no less. Meanwhile, Makhachev has one professional loss to his name, a first-round knockout by Adriano Martins in 2015. Yet as impressive as Khabib’s zero is, there is a feeling that he would have tasted defeat eventually, if he had stayed around long enough – or tested himself at welterweight.
On those notes, it feels Makhachev’s sole loss should not be overplayed, so common as they are in MMA, and he will be testing himself at 170lb. With that venture, he’ll have the chance to deepen his legacy in a way that Khabib did not.
And delve further into each man’s legacy via his record, Khabib’s most notable wins came against McGregor, Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Rafael dos Anjos. All are former undisputed or interim champions, and only “RDA” escaped a finish against Khabib, while the Russian submitted McGregor, Poirier and Gaethje back-to-back-to-back. An all-time great run, in his final three fights.
Makhachev, meanwhile, kickstarted a fearsome run by submitting Charles Oliveira – the UFC’s greatest submission artist, statistically – to win the belt. He then outpointed and knocked out featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski across two bouts, before submitting Poirier. And while Volk’s size disadvantage could be seen as an asterisk against Makhachev, those fights pitted No 1 vs No 2 on the pound-for-pound list.
Khabib retired at 29-0 with 19 stoppages, while Makhachev is 27-1 with 18 stoppages, and the similarity of those records is emblematic of the more general margin between them: a near-imperceptible one. Khabib was unbeaten, but Makhachev had more title defences. Khabib saw off more legends, but Makhachev is the more well-rounded fighter. Khabib retired at his peak, but Makhachev will go on.
In that respect, there is still a chance for Makhachev to pull clear of Khabib – or to damage his own legacy in defeat. When it comes to Khabib vs Makhachev in the cage, Indy Sport knows who it would favour. When it comes to their legacies... settle for a draw?
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