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Islam Makhachev is a guy who is difficult to fight for, with an endless list of lightweight who have reportedly refused to face Khabib Nurmagomedov’s officially appointed successor in the cage. And on Saturday at UFC Vegas 31, we found out why.
While Islam still hasn’t lived up to Khabib’s hype (and let’s be honest, who could), he did a one-sided job of Thiago Moises in the main event of the UFC APEX card before he finished. things with a bare rear choke in the fourth round (watch the highlights here).
Afterwards, an elated Makhachev called out a long list of potential opponents: Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Chandler, even Conor McGregor.
The Makhachev team takes photos of the victory after the fight in the back. Makhachev’s manager tells me that this fight – Islam against Conor – is now his “dream fight”. He says that would end any remaining business between the two teams. https://t.co/SeO7VJ6dLe
– Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 18, 2021
But when asked at the UFC Vegas 31 post-fight press conference, Islam shared his true number one pick for the next fight: Tony Ferguson.
“If they give me a choice, let’s do it with Tony,” Makhachev said. “Because we have a good history with him. Khabib was supposed to fight him five, six times? Let’s finish this, you know? I’ll finish this. And I’m going to show people all over the world Tony not the Khabib level. People don’t understand how Khabib came under pressure. I can’t explain it to you guys, but you know everything.
“Let’s make the end of this year. One more fight, I’ll finish one more fight, and at the end of it I’ll be the fighter of the year.
It’ll be a tough order considering Kamaru Usman’s year, but a man can dream, right? Islam Makhachev is now 2-0 in 2021 with two submissions. Both were dominant wins, but again… when your management team and coaches hold you to a measuring stick like Khabib, it just makes people see all the non-Khabib elements.
Makhachev might not get any of his picks, which is a shame as an RDA fight would be an absolute reject. Instead, UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports reporter Kevin Iole that lightweight Beneil Dariush was the third opponent.
“Dariush, Beniel really good fighter,” said Makhachev. “If they give me Beneil, it’s going to be a good fight. He’s a nice guy, I know him a little. He’s number three, a big step for me too. He’s tougher than these other guys I call.
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