Islam Makhachev is either taking up a side gig as The Retirement Fairy or he has decided to take a different approach in scoring a top-ranked opponent.
Islam Makhachev is known as one of the scariest fighters on the entire UFC roster, let alone the lightweight division. It is precisely for this reason that the word around town is no one wants any part of the dominant Dagestani.
There is one aspect of Makhachev’s identity that is not feared by a single soul, however. That is because prior to this moment, it didn’t exist. This would be his trash-talking game.
When Islam Makhachev entered the UFC back in 2015, the man barely spoke a lick of English. Now that his proficiency in the language has significantly progressed, he’s decided to use it to bait one of the big fishes in the lightweight pond he’s been eying.
Retirement Plan Client #1: Rafael dos Anjos
First up on Islam Makhachev’s debut trash-talking playlist is Rafael dos Anjos. Originally booked to fight one another not once but twice, both fights fell apart, leaving Makhachev still yearning to face a highly ranked lightweight opponent.
By all appearances, dos Anjos has moved on from Makhachev and has set his sights on other, higher-ranked names. Makhachev has decided not to go away quietly and instead called RDA an elderly fighter who needs assistance in walking away.
“RDA is good for me next, but this guy always ran,” Makhachev said during a UFC Vegas 31 media session. “Now he says, ‘I want to fight with Conor or Khabib, and last week, Conor slapped him at the weigh-in, and he did nothing. This guy always ran. This guy is old. Yeah, I understand him. He want to make money, but I want to help him retire” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Retirement Plan Client #2: “El Cucuy” Tony Ferguson
The next track is dedicated to “El Cucuy” Tony Ferguson. Ferguson’s history with Khabib Nurmagomedov is painfully well remembered by die-hard MMA fans. The two were scheduled to fight one another on several occasions, only for the fight to collapse each time, seemingly with an increasing degree of drama.
With many people considering Islam Makhachev to be the heir apparent to Khabib’s legacy in Dagestan MMA, he is offering Tony Ferguson the next best thing to a match against Nurmagomedov: a two-for-one special of facing Khabib’s successor while, like RDA, being aided in his retirement plan.
“I just want to help [Tony Feguson] retire,” Makhachev told ESPN. “He lost his last three fights. He has to retire because all these guys from the top 10, all his last three opponents, beat him very bad. I think he’s old now. He has to retire, but I can help him.”
As Makhachev and the rest of the MMA community wait to see how or if either dos Anjos or Ferguson responds to these proposals, the Dagestani will be competing this Saturday against another, albeit much lower-ranked lightweight in Thiago Moisés (#15). Some may accuse the AKA steamroller of looking past the task at hand in the streaking Moisés, but when your future looks as bright as Makhachev’s, maybe you can continue dominating in your prime while crafting retirement plans.
