AKA's Cain Velasquez charts out how Islam Makhachev can surpass the legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov
Cain Velasquez recently spoke about how Islam Makhachev could surpass the legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev is currently set to defend his UFC lightweight championship against former champion Charles Oliveira later this month at UFC 294. The Dagestani is on a 12-fight winning streak in the UFC and is already being considered as one of the best lightweights ever by many.
However, many still believe that Islam Makhachev still has much to do before he can be considered better than Khabib Nurmagomedov. Speaking about the same during a recent interview with The Shcmo, UFC legend Cain Velasquez was asked to give his opinion on what Makhachev would need to do to surpass the legacy of 'The Eagle'.
Responding to the question, Cain Velasquez had this to say:
"It's always a thing of progression, you know? Progression and going out and performing, you're only as good as your last fight so going out and just continuing what they're doing their heart has to stay in this right? Continued success, progression in their skills, and going out with each fight that they have, whatever problems that the other fighter may bring, to trump those. Go out there and show that they can beat up anybody out there."
Catch his comments in the video below (4:53):
Javier Mendez picks Islam Makhachev's next fight
Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez recently spoke about the one fight he wants following Makhachev's fight against Charles Oliveira. Heading into his UFC 294 bout, the UFC lightweight champion has expressed his desire of wanting to move up in weight to take on the welterweight champion.
However, Javier Mendez would rather see Makhachev go up against Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch. During an interview with Helen Yee, Mendez said:
"I do want Islam to go after what he wants, the champ-champ status. But I also know that there's also one fight that we'd all like to see again, after hopefully being successful with Oliveira's fight. But you've got Gaethje, and you've got Alex [Volkanovski]. And Colby just came into the picture.
He added:
"So in a perfect world, what I want is what Islam wants, 'cause he wants champ-champ status. So Colby would be the one I would pick, only because of that reason. But if you're asking me the one I really want back, I want to go with Alex, because I know Islam will do much better."
Watch the video below from 4:10: