Has Islam Makhachev surpassed Khabib Nurmagomedov's legacy in the UFC? Aljamain Sterling answers
Aljamain Sterling shared his take on Islam Makhachev's UFC legacy in comparison to his mentor and close friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sterling claimed that Makhachev has surpassed Nurmagomedov, citing the 33-year-old's remarkable performances before and after winning the crown.
Nurmagomedov retired from MMA with an undefeated record of 29-0. During his tenure in the UFC, 'The Eagle' made three lightweight title defenses, the most recent being a second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020.
He hung up his gloves after defeating Gaethje, only to return two years later at UFC 280, where he guided Makhachev to become the new undisputed champion with a second-round submission victory against Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev then made history by having the most successful lightweight title defenses (four), surpassing Nurmagomedov. In his last octagon outing at UFC 311 earlier this year, the Dagestani fighter submitted Renato Moicano in the opening round.
In a recently shared video on his YouTube channel, Sterling expressed his admiration for Makhachev, asserting that he overtook Nurmagomedov in the promotion, saying:
''Now, Islam is one of the greatest lightweights of all time, in my opinion. I think he surpasses Khabib just based on how active he's been. I know some people think he hasn't been the most active. In terms of Khabib's run, I think Khabib had a total of like 13 or 14 UFC fights. I think Islam has already passed that, if I'm not mistaken.''
Sterling then emphasized Makhachev's octagon record, saying:
''In my opinion, he [Makhachev] surpassed him...Yeah, I know the Volk [Alexander Volkanovski] one, you could say he's a 45er, but he beat the guy who was pound for pound at the time. But to do what he did to do Bronx the way that he did, it was super impressive...and of course, Dustin Poirier...then for Islam to beat him the way that he did, you know, he had to grid it out.''
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Ali Abdelaziz explains Islam Makhachev's decision to vacate lightweight belt
Islam Makhachev recently vacated his lightweight title and announced his move up to welterweight in order to become a two-division champion.
Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz recently spoke with MMA Junkie and stated that Makhachev has already defeated most of the top contenders, making him eligible to pursue a second belt. He said:
''If Belal were to win, Islam was never going to fight Belal, and he's going to stay in the (lightweight) division. But now Jack wins, Islam has beaten everyone in this division, literally...(There’s no one who) deserves to go fight for a second title than Islam, and the reason he wasn't going to do it because Belal was the champion.”
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (0:27):