"Khabib walked through Justin Gaethje" - John McCarthy explains what Khabib Nurmagomedov has 'way over' Islam Makhachev
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev share a close bond going back to their days in Dagestan. Makhachev has often been compared to 'The Eagle' due to the stark similarities in their fighting styles.
However, former UFC referee Big John McCarthy believes Khabib Nurmagomedov is 'way over' Islam in one aspect of the game. According to McCarthy, Khabib's brutal mentality is what sets him apart from his fellow Dagestani.
McCarthy cited the example of Khabib's final outing against Justin Gaethje to emphasize 'The Eagle's' mentality. Comparing Islam Makhachev to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Big John McCarthy recently told Josh Thompson on the Weighing In podcast:
"Here's your difference. I'm not saying that Islam is not very good with his wresting, he is. I'm not saying that he's maybe not just as good as Khabib in that area. What I am gonna say is and you can say whatever you want, I can prove it in fights, in watching them. There's a difference in their mentalities and that's where Khabib has it way over Islam. Khabib walked through Justin Gaethje. Walked through him. I mean he did something that no other fighter has ever done to Justin. He put Justin on his back foot and then his other back foot. And he had Justin exhausted from moving backwards, trying to throw shots and had a guy that was just walking through his shots. No one had done it. Can Islam do that? I don't know. I don't know that he can. And that's the difference."
Watch John McCarthy's entire podcast with Josh Thomson below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Islam Makhachev is better than Justin Gaethje
Islam Makhachev recently accepted a lightweight matchup against Beneil Dariush, which is scheduled to go down on February 26, 2022. According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush are better than Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, who are ranked higher on the lightweight ladder.
According to Nurmagomedov, Makhachev and Dariush are more deserving of a title shot even though Poirier and Gaethje might be bigger names in MMA. 'The Eagle' recently told ESPN:
“Like any any of them, like Islam or Dariush, they right now, they deserve to fight for the title right now. But we have like some big names on lightweights like, you cannot say no for Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje. These two guys, they have very big names, but like fighters, in my opinion, they are better - Dariush and Islam. These two guys, they’re better than Dustin and Justin. It’s just my opinion, you know, but they have big names, and we know this game, and sometimes it’s not enough, like nine win streak or seven win streak. It’s not enough to fight for the title.”
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov's full interview with ESPN below: