Ex-UFC lightweight champion claims Islam Makhachev "more susceptible to getting beat" than Khabib Nurmagomedov after UFC 302 performance
Islam Makhachev seems more likely to fall in defeat than his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in the eyes of someone else who is part of that UFC lightweight championship lineage.
The individual in question, Eddie Alvarez, previously held the distinction of being a 155-pound champion in Bellator MMA and has had a pair of BKFC bouts as of late also.
Alvarez spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour and offered his thoughts following Islam Makhachev submitting Dustin Poirier to retain his hold on the lightweight gold at UFC 302 on June 1.
When directly comparing the pair of prolific lightweights out of Dagestan, Alvarez said:
"Islam is not Khabib. He does not fight like Khabib. He takes more chances, he takes more risks, and relies on finishing guys. Where Khabib would just, he knew you weren't gonna be able to deal with him over time. He would take you from a hundred percent energy to zero energy and then he would finish you.
"Islam's more, he's gonna go for it. He's gonna leave himself more vulnerable. So he's a little bit funner to watch but he's more susceptible to getting beat than Khabib was."
Check out Alvarez's stylistic comparison of Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov below:
Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov UFC lightweight title legacies at this point
The 32-year-old now stands in elite company along with Khabib in terms of UFC titleholders at 155 pounds. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are tied for the all-time record of victorious UFC lightweight title defenses at three apiece.
This is a tier that only includes BJ Penn and Benson Henderson, who defended the strap three straight times during their tenure on top. Frankie Edgar maintained his hold on the lightweight belt across three fights as champ but one was a draw vs Gray Maynard at UFC 125.
The Dagestan native notched his third defense against Dustin Poirier over the weekend, but Makhachev made his prior two title defenses against Alexander Volkanovski. Islam Makhachev bested the then-featherweight champion of the UFC and number one pound for pound fighter in the company at UFC 284 on points and UFC 294 via first-round knockout.
For Nurmagomedov, he made the first defense of his lightweight championship reign in one of the all-time big blockbuster bouts in UFC history versus Conor McGregor. This saw Khabib win via fourth-round rear naked choke at UFC 229.
Nurmagomedov then finished the aforementioned Poirier as well as Justin Gaethje with a pair of chokes for his second and third defenses. He won via rear naked choke at UFC 242 and by way of a triangle choke at UFC 254, respectively.