Makhachev is on an unstoppable rise
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he’ll never step back into the UFC octagon as a fighter, but he’ll be right outside the cage on Saturday to stand in the corner of his teammate and friend from Dagestan, lightweight Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev (19-1) will be in his first UFC main event this weekend in Las Vegas, when he faces Thiago Moses (15-4) as a heavy betting favorite (-650).
Nurmagomedov said for years that once his time as champion was over, he would pass the torch to Makhachev, who at 29 is three years younger than the retired former monarch. Although Makhachev, No. 8 in ESPN’s lightweight rankings, still needs to prove himself to earn a title shot, he is well on his way with a seven-fight winning streak.
Brazilian Moises is riding a three-fight win streak and will be looking for the biggest win of his career.
James Krause, UFC welterweight, MMA Glory Coach
When I look at this matchup stylistically, I don’t see how Moises wins. And I’m a big fan of Thiago Moses. I think he’s skilled. But when I look at his style, the only way he can win this fight is with jiu-jitsu, a submission. He won’t take Islam down. That won’t happen. He’s not a better striker. The only way I see him winning is catching Makhachev in a guillotine or something.
To me, Islam is the dark horse in the division. I see him winning against Charles Oliveira. I see him giving Dustin Poirier trouble. All of them. Justin Gaethje. Line them up. He’s trouble. He’s a big, big problem. I just don’t see Thiago beating Islam. I don’t think Thiago beats any of the names I just listed. I think Islam is a more polished striker and, in my opinion, you’re looking at a future lightweight champion.
Deron Winn, UFC middleweight
It’s hard for me not to sound extremely biased, because I’ve been able to watch Islam day in and day out at the American Kickboxing Academy for the last four years, but he’s really progressed into what we all knew he was going to be. I think because his last few opponents have been guys like Arman Tsarukyan and Davi Ramos, those guys are phenomenal grapplers, you haven’t seen Islam’s submission ability. There’s not a lot of hype behind some of his fights. But in my opinion, Islam is the best grappler in the lightweight division and pound for pound one of the best in the entire UFC roster.
The funny thing is Islam is not arrogant; he will never be arrogant. But he is what I like to call “feeling like himself” at this point. He’s got that kind of confident style when he steps into the cage. It’s like, “Oh, Islam is here now.” And I’ve seen him crush everybody in sparring. Every round. You could almost say, and Khabib Nurmagomedov will give me so much sh— for saying this, but you could almost say his striking is better than Khabib’s when he was at this point in his career. It might not be in the first round because Islam usually starts a little slow, but I could definitely see a second round finish.
UFC lightweight Gregor Gillespie.
I expect this fight to be very similar to how Makhachev’s fight with Drew Dober went: a third-round submission win for Makhachev. Moses is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who seems to do his best work on the ground, which is exactly where Makhachev wants to be.
I expect to see Makhachev dominate grappling exchanges before finishing Moises on the ground, either with strikes or by submission.
