Islam Makhachev returns to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 302 to defend his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier.
When Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the title and chose to retire, it was hard to imagine how Makhachev was going to live up to his close friend and teammate’s legacy by picking up the mantle.
Despite Charles Oliveira’s impressive title reign, it felt like an inevitability until the lightweight title was back in the hands of a fighter hailing from Dagestan.
With two title defenses under his belt now, even if both were against a featherweight moving up, people are now starting to question how far the current champion is away from surpassing the legacy of his coach.
Some already consider to him be the more well-rounded fighter of the two and a win in Newark will see him push in front of “The Eagle” in a few key areas
Islam Makhachev Is Starting To Separate Himself By Moving Up The Record Books
Beating Poirier on Saturday night will see Makhachev tie Nurmagomedov at three title defenses. More importantly, he will surpass his winning streak.
The likes of Makhachev, Nurmagomedov, Max Holloway, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Demetrious Johnson have all managed to win 13 fights in a row inside the Octagon.
One more win will push the current 155-pound king away from the rest of the pack into third place for all-time winning streaks behind Kamaru Usman and Anderson Silva.
According to Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez, he could overtake the former champion for one other record as well.
“I believe he might very well pass it yeah but he also will pass another record, the most wins when you’re favored,” Mendez said on his podcast. “He’s got 15, they’re tied at 15. Since [the] UFC when you’re favored to win, you win, so if he wins this one, it’ll be 16 wins so he’ll be the leader in that department. I have a feeling before he’s done, he’s going to have a few records added to his arsenal of accomplishments because you know, this guy, he’s silent but he’s very progressive, he keeps advancing.”
