Islam makhachev e Khabib Nurmagomedov They are icons in the UFC lightweight division. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Russo, born in Dagestan and UFC lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) with a dominant start to his reign, Islam makhachev There is no way to escape constant comparisons with Khabib Nurmagomedov, his mentor and friend who holds the record for title defenses in the category.
Friend and former training partner of both, Daniel Cormier stated, in a video published on his YouTube channel, that he believes that Makhachev not only shares many qualities in relation to Khabib Nurmagomedov, as he is more dangerous than the former champion.
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“Dana White said a few weeks ago that Dustin poirier ou Conor McGregor, one of the two, spoke to him after the fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov and said he never thought any man could do to them what Khabib did. Because of his strength and control and the way he manipulates you on the ground. I think Makhachev has many of these qualities. He's very similar when he puts you on the ground, but because he's a better striker, I think he's even more dangerous than Khabib was at his peak,” said DC.
With two lightweight title defenses, Makhachev is one away from equaling the Khabib Nurmagomedov, Benson Henderson and B.J. Penn, which share the category record. The tendency is for the champion's next challenger to be Dustin poirier, which, in Cormier's opinion, is the ideal name to increase Islam's stardom.
“I feel like it makes sense, because if you're trying to build a star, this star has to go through the old star. We saw it happen to Khabib with Conor McGregor. Saw Dustin poirier become a star after crashing Conor McGregor. We've seen this since we started watching sports and entertainment. It seems to me the fight that makes the most sense, because it would help Islam makhachev to become an even bigger star”, he concluded.
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