Throughout his nine-year UFC tenure, Islam Makhachev hasn’t been tested by many fighters, however, there is one who stands out to him more than the others.
On January 18 at UFC 311, Islam Makhachev is set to defend his lightweight title for the fourth time when he rematches Arman Tsarukyan.
Makhachev and Tsarukyan first met back in 2019 in Moscow, in what was ‘Ahalkalakets’ debut in the promotion, fighting to a decision.
Islam Makhachev highlights Alexander Volkanovski as his toughest opponent to date
Having only suffered one defeat throughout his entire professional career, Islam Makhachev hasn’t been put in much danger, however, there is one fighter that pushed him to his limits more than any other.
At UFC 284 last year, Makhachev made the first defense of his title against the then-featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski.
The two went on to put on a five-round war which was later awarded Fight of the Year for 2023, with the Russian narrowly edging the decision.
Makhachev was then scheduled to defend his title in a rematch with Charles Oliveira a few months later but after ‘Do Bronx’ withdrew, Volkanovski stepped in on short notice to try and exact revenge.
The second time round, Makhachev made easy work of ‘The Great’, knocking him out in round one after a heavy head kick and subsequent ground-and-pound.
Ahead of his huge rematch against Tsarukyan, Makhachev sat down with Daniel Cormier who told him his first fight against ‘Ahalkalakets’ is universally seen as his toughest fight to date.
“No, man. Just watch the fight against Volkanovski,” Makhachev responded.
“(My first fight against Tsarukyan) was one of the hardest fights of course but it’s not the toughest fight because the five rounds with Volkanovski was crazy, my heart rate was more than 200.
“Maybe I was underestimating (Tsarukyan in the first fight) because it was short notice, nobody knew him and I’d never watched his fights and he did well in that fight,” he continued.