Islam Makhachev is a more well-rounded mixed martial artist than Khabib Nurmagomedov, with Israel Adesanya praising the reigning UFC lightweight champion’s more natural knack for striking. ‘The Last Stylebender’ collaborated with fellow ex-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on a video.
The pair discussed the upcoming UFC 311 card set for this Saturday. During their conversation, the topic of how Makhachev stacks up to Nurmagomedov came about. Whittaker praised Makhachev for his timing and ability to see openings, which Adesanya was more than happy to corroborate.
“He’s just more natural. Like, Khabib was always like the best of their group, but his striking was still a little bit clumsy. Like, he throws hands to get close. He’s just like, ‘I’m great at this [wrestling].’ But yeah, he’s [Islam Makhachev] is definitely the next level up in that clan, and his striking is just looking way more comfortable lately. Way more polished.”
Both men made an accurate assessment of Makhachev, who has improved tremendously since becoming the lightweight champion. While his wrestling and grappling remain exceptional, as is the case with many Dagestani fighters, his striking his evolved far past Nurmagomedov’s arsenal during his fighting days.
First, Islam Makhachev demonstrated the leaps he has made with his striking in his previous title defense against Dustin Poirier, one of the promotion’s most renowned boxers. Despite winning the fight with a late D’Arce choke, Makhachev spent a considerable amount of time outstriking Poirier on the feet.
Similarly, he marginally outstruck Alexander Volkanovski during their first encounter, rocking and stumbling him at various points, before knocking him out with a slick head kick in their rematch.
Check out Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker praising Islam Makhachev (22:50):