Islam Makhachev currently sits atop the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and shows no signs of slowing up anytime soon as his battle with Dustin Poirier approaches.
Makhachev began his mixed martial arts journey as a seven-year-old, training in taekwondo under former world champion Seyfula Magomedov.
The Russian fighter later took up sanda, a Chinese full-contact boxing system, where he would meet future UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev trained under the guidance of Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, as the rising star even won gold in the 2016 Sambo World Championships.
Islam Makhachev MMA record
Tengiz Khuchua, 2011
After training for several years, Makhachev made his professional MMA debut at 18 before joining the M-1 Global promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a 19-year-old.
He got off to a hot start with M-1, defeating opponent Tengiz Khuchua by knockout in the first round, showing remarkable power in the process.
Rander Junio, 2013
After notching another win in M-1, Makhachev got his most formidable challenge to date — undefeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Rander Junio.
Junio breezed through his first two years as an MMA professional but ran into a brick wall when Makhachev took the victory via unanimous decision.
It gave the young Russian a statement victory early in his career, opening the door for his eventual move to the UFC a year later.
Leo Kuntz, 2015
Makhachev signed a four-fight deal with the UFC in 2014, entering the promotion as a highly-coveted, undefeated prospect in the MMA world.
In his UFC debut, the 23-year-old Makhachev came out swinging against Leo Kuntz by throwing massive left hands that narrowly missed his opponent’s chin.
Makhachev leaned into his wrestling background as the fight continued, hip-tossing Kuntz to the canvas before taking his back and securing a rear-naked choke.
Kuntz tapped out, giving Makhachev his first UFC victory and boosting his overall MMA record to an impressive 12-0.
Adriano Martins, 2015
Following a successful UFC debut, Makhachev was dealt the most significant blow of his MMA career in the next bout vs Adriano Martins.
In a bit of a change-up in strategy, Islam came out firing on his feet. He engaged Martins in the center of the octagon but didn’t land anything of note in the exchange.
After finding no success striking, Makhachev shot for a takedown, which Martins snuffed out. Then, a knockout blow was dealt less than two minutes into the opening round.
As Islam went to throw his left hand, Martins slid out of the way and sent the burgeoning superstar violently to the mat. The ref came charging in to stop the fight.
Martins was the first man to not only defeat Makhachev in mixed martial arts — he did so by knocking the Russian out only minutes into their UFC 192 affair.
Gleison Tibau, 2018
Although the Martins loss presented a setback for Makhachev, it was short-lived, as the top prospect dominated his next opponents — Chris Wade & Nik Lentz — to the tune of two unanimous decisions.
At UFC 220, Islam continued building momentum against a 52-fight professional — Gleison Tibau.
Gleison, to his credit, walked Makhachev back in the opening moments of the first round, even landing a nice leg kick to demand his opponent’s respect.
However, the Brazilian got caught with his guard down, leading to a brutal left-hand jab from Makhachev that brought the match to an abrupt end.
While Makhachev is primarily known for his proficiency as a wrestler, he proved that the left hand possessed more than enough juice to knock Tibau out.
Arman Tsarukyan, 2019
After submitting Kajan Johnson, Makhachev went from being an upcoming star himself to facing the next upcoming star when he saw Arman Tsarukyan in April 2019
It didn’t take long for fireworks to ensue, as this match turned into a throwback grappling fest. Makhachev did well in draining Arman’s tank in the opening slate.
However, Tsarukyan fought valiantly to deny a takedown from Islam, as the two spent the rest of the first round putting on a masterclass of wrestling and reversals.
Makhachev opened the second frame by prioritizing high kicks. He also kept trying to secure a takedown and, against Tsarukyan’s best efforts, finally succeeded with two minutes remaining.
Still, Arman did well to escape bottom position, eventually getting the fight back to its feet. But, although competitive throughout, Islam took the second round.
With both fighters having earned each other’s respect, Tsarukyan forced the issue by throwing a few clever combinations to relative success early in the third.
Neither man showed fatigue, but Makhachev really poured it on as the final minutes ticked off. Following a late-round takedown, the Russian cruised to the finish.
He was awarded a unanimous decision victory and a hefty bonus for the “fight of the night.” Makhachev won the next two fights after Tsarukyan, bumping his record to 19-1.
Thiago Moises, 2021
For the first time in his UFC career, Makhachev was tabbed as the headliner of an event — UFC Fight Night in July 2021 vs Thiago Moises.
Makhachev, as is often the case, entered his battle with Moises as a clear favorite. And once again, the grappling technician flexed profound wrestling chops.
In the five-round main event, Makhachev spent most of the first three rounds wrestling circles around Moises, to put it mildly.
His opponent tried to compete with a couple of effective body kicks, but that was the extent of damage taken by Makhachev throughout.
As the fourth round began, Islam picked Moises up, threw him over his shoulder, and slammed the Brazilian onto the canvas.
Makhachev followed the slam by getting Moises’ back and eventually cinching in a rear-naked choke, securing a submission victory and the 20th win of his MMA career.
Bobby Green, 2022
Makhachev won a third straight fight via submission when he beat Dan Hooker at UFC 267. Then, he headlined another Fight Night, this time against Bobby Green.
Islam and Green are polar opposites as fighters, which made for a fun contrast of styles when the two men took the octagon in Feb. 2022.
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Makhachev elected to stay on his feet with Green, as he found a home for a couple of jabs, setting the tone early.
Green never quite settled in, as Islam controlled the distance and never left an opening in his guard. Only three minutes in, Makhachev ended the main event bout.
After Islam took Green to the mat and smothered him in top position, the Russian bulldozer ground and pounded to victory.
Makhachev silenced the doubters who said he didn’t possess knockout power, locking in his second such victory in the UFC and first since 2018.
Charles Oliveira, 2022
The next match presented another step up in competition, as Charles Oliveira and Makhachev locked horns at UFC 280 with the vacant lightweight championship on the line.
Oliveira came into the matchup at 33-8 with a distinct reach advantage, but Makhachev was the betting favorite for the 14th time in a row to open his UFC career.
The first round got underway in a hurry, with Makhachev immediately connecting on a left-hand jab to the face less than ten seconds after the opening bell.
To Oliveira’s credit, he rebounded well, although Makhachev was able to take him to the ground and maintain top position until the action returned to its feet.
An excellent hip toss from Makhachev resulted in a second takedown of the round and, this time, didn’t allow Oliveira back to his feet, securing a 10-9 round in his favor.
As the second round began, it was more of the same, with Oliveira attempting to take Makhachev down to no avail. Instead, Islam hit a sly right hook.
Oliveira dropped to the mat, clearly dazed, and Makhachev hurried to lock in an arm triangle. Seconds later, Charles tapped out, giving Islam UFC gold for the first time.
Alexander Volkanovski, 2023
Makhachev’s next two fights would both be against the same guy — one of the greatest featherweights in MMA history, Alexander Volkanovski.
For his match with Islam, Volk bumped up to the lightweight division with aspirations of adding that belt to his featherweight strap and becoming a double-weight champion.
The first chapter of the champion vs champion clash came at UFC 284, with Makhachev once again entering as the massive favorite, even as he entered enemy territory.
With backing from his home country crowd, Volk gave fans a reason to cheer early on as he connected flush with a right hand to Makhachev’s chin.
However, amid a wild exchange midway through the round, Islam hit Volk with a quick left hand, bringing him to a knee before the featherweight champ popped back up.
Makhachev brilliantly worked around to taking Volkanovski’s back, and tried as hard as he could to finish the fight with a neck crank, but the Aussie held on until the bell.
Later, Volkanovski hit a punishing blow that sent Makhachev to the mat, but the Russian found a way to reverse it into an expertly executed takedown.
Still, Volk stayed aggressive throughout the second frame. On my card, it was a narrow 10-9 victory for Volk but a razor-thin margin nonetheless.
Makhachev got plenty of chances to prove he has a chin, as Volk tested it with some damaging punches that would have knocked most other fighters out.
In a close round, Islam tallied another takedown, combined with a savvy counter punch, but Volkanovski ended it with a flurry, perhaps even stealing the round as a result.
With the championship rounds beginning, Volkanovski kept throwing tons of volume, but he could not find a home for a significant amount of those strikes.
On the other hand, Makhachev kept Volk honest by working his way into the fourth takedown of the match. And the entire round saw a slew of near-finishes while the two wrestled on the mat.
The crowd, loud enough to blow the roof off the building, showered Volkanovski in praise as he ate a gnarly shot to the mouth from Islam seconds into the fifth round.
Makhachev began connecting at will, including a violent knee and a few sharp jabs, all hitting their mark and causing obvious discomfort for Volkanovski.
The knee sliced Volk’s left eye open, which tipped the scale in Makhachev’s favor in terms of damage dealt, but the featherweight champ didn’t go away quietly.
He hit a shot that hobbled Islam, and the round ended with Makhachev on his back.
Still, according to the judges, it wasn’t quite enough, as the more calculated Russian did enough to outscore his opponent via unanimous decision.
Alexander Volkanovski 2, 2023
After what some believed to be a controversial ruling, a rematch made too much sense not to happen. Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 was set for UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
However, this affair wouldn’t last nearly as long as the five-round war eight months prior. Makhachev wasted no time putting the Australian down.
Like in the prior meeting, Volkanovski threw a heavy dosage of strikes and even thwarted a takedown attempt by Makhachev early in the first round.
Alas, after some clinch-fighting against the cage, Islam crushed Volkanovski with a brain-rocking knee to the forehead. And he never shook that shot off.
A clean left hand followed up by a head kick that would have made Cristiano Ronaldo proud stumbled Volk, and Islam quickly pounced on top as Marc Goddard called an end to the fight three minutes into round one.
The highly anticipated matchup was over just like that, leaving Volkanovski short of his double-champion aspirations and cementing Islam as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.
Islam Makhachev MMA record
Islam Makhachev enters UFC 302 with a sparkling 25-1 record, with nine of his victories in the UFC coming by way of knockout or submission.
He’ll defend the lightweight championship vs Dustin Poirier with Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, as the Newark, New Jersey crowd receives a potential battle for the ages.
Islam Makhachev has announced that Khabib will be in his corner this weekend against Dustin Poirier at #UFC302 🤝THE EAGLE HAS LANDED IN JERSEY 🦅 pic.twitter.com/jlOyVbHo7s
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 28, 2024
If Makhachev wins, he’ll further extend the gap between himself and the field regarding the ‘pound-for-pound king’ label in the UFC.