Who is the only fighter to have defeated Islam Makhachev in the UFC?
In nearly six years, Islam Makhachev has lost only once in the UFC. The UFC lightweight sensation suffered his sole loss to Adriano Martins.
Islam Makhachev locked horns with Adriano Martins in his second UFC fight. After picking up a submission victory on his UFC debut against Leo Kuntz, Islam Makhachev was finished by Adriano Martins in the first round of UFC 192 on October 3, 2015.
That was the first, last, and only time Islam Makhachev has lost inside the UFC octagon.
What happened when Islam Makhachev faced Adriano Martins?
At the 1:46 mark, Adriano Martins replied Islam Makhachev's big left with one of his own and dropped down to the mat immediately, causing the referee to intervene and call off the fight.
Islam Makhachev came at Adriano Martins early on, while the latter waited patiently for him to make a mistake and find an opening. Martins got his chance when Makhachev tried to land a wide left hand and missed, providing him with exactly what he needed. With his own short right, Martins sent Makhachev crashing to the floor.
Watch the fight below:
Following the fight, Islam Makhachev has gone on to build a seven-fight winning streak. Among his opponents over the last five years are names like Chris Wade, Nik Lentz, and Gleison Tibau.
Most recently, Islam Makhachev went through Drew Dober with an arm-triangle choke-hold at Saturday's UFC 259. The fight ended within two minutes of the second round. Islam Makhachev put up a clinical performance that drew accolades from all over the MMA community and absolutely mauled Drew Dober on the ground.
For the fight, Makhachev was cornered by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Khabib Nurmagomedov heaped praise on his longtime friend, stating that no one in the lightweight division has the ability to defeat Islam Makhachev right now. "He will run the division" by the end of the year, 'The Eagle' has said in a recent interview.
Daniel Cormier has also spoken highly of Makhachev and has on multiple occasions compared him to Khabib Nurmagomedov as well.