The notion that Islam Makhachev is a real problem for anyone in the UFC’s 155-pound division has been floating around for a while. The Dagestani are currently on an eight-fight winning streak, including back-to-back submission wins in their last two meetings.
As a protégé of Javier Méndez and Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is often drawn to comparisons to ‘The Eagle’.
Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in history and it looks like he will remain retired as a former lightweight champion with a 29-0 record. But Mendez believes that Makhachev has part of his game that is even better than Khabib’s.
Speaking on the Real Quick Podcast with Mike Swick, Mendez said:
“What Islam has that Khabib never did so well are throws, judo throws, leg sweeps, leg stumbling. I mean Khabib has them, but not at the level of Islam now. I mean, suddenly, you are with Islam, you agree and the next thing you know is that you are flying, you are literally flying.
Khabib became famous for his overwhelming pressure where he smothered opponents and dominated them from the top. Makhachev has also shown incredible fighting during his tenure in the UFC and Mendez described the merits in their respective styles.
“Khabib is actually meaner; it is bad. Khabib is like this: when he controls you, it is as if his whole body controls you. His legs, his toes, his arms, everything is locked for you. One is a little more explosive is Khabib, the most explosive. But the other one (Makhachev) is a little smoother in the transition ”,
At AKA, they are famous for practicing the belief that “iron sharpens iron.” That certainly seemed to be the case when Khabib was training with Makhachev, where the prowess of the younger fighter led the former champion to hone a particular area of his skill set.
“Khabib improved his knees because he got tired of being beaten up by Islam. Islam beat him up, so the next thing you know is that Khabib says ‘I even have knee pads’ because he wouldn’t allow these guys to drop their knees if they don’t have knee pads, so I’ve been getting his knee pads because Islam is beating him up, ”Mendez said.
“This is how the progression came about. That’s how good Islam was. So he was able to adapt and learn from other people [mientras que] Khabib was more loyal [a Méndez como su entrenador de golpes] ”.
