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. red event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year! 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 said 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.
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. Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje Alexander Volkanovski (x2), Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Jack Della Maddalena 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.
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