Undefeated UFC Star Dismisses Islam Makhachev’s Wrestling Skills, Labels it Below World-Class Standard

Islam Makhachev is an average wrestler. You hear someone say that at a bar, there’s a good chance, it’s just Conor McGregor having a good time. But no, as it turns out, Bo Nickal doesn’t rate Islam’s wrestling as much as the rest of us do.

For the uninitiated, Nickal’s freestyle wrestling is very different from Makhchev’s Sambo wrestling. Sambo is a Mixed Martial Art popularized by the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Of course, Makhachev took on the mantle as ‘The Eagle’ flew into the sunset.

To the naked eye, both Dagestani fighters have very similar wrestling styles and are known for being dominant in the ground game. However, Bo Nickal thinks otherwise.

The unbeaten UFC prospect recently sat for a podcast on his own YouTube channel and made a comparison between Makhachev’s wrestling to that of Khabib.

“It’s alright…His wrestling is not like Khabib’s, Khabib has much better wrestling in my opinion overall….I mean it’s okay, it’s better than average, not like world-class wrestling.”

Bo Nickal believes the champ’s wrestling is better than average. Although nobody is questioning Nickal’s judgment, it must be noted that opinions are dime a dozen in the UFC, and not every word needs to be taken to heart.

It must be noted that Makhachev has wrestled collegiate-level state and national championships in the past and absolutely dominated his opponents, so maybe the heavyweight prospect’s views aren’t of much concern to him.

Right now, the lightweight champ is just a day away from his next fight and will be looking to defend his title. And if it probed Nickal wrong along the way, well, that’s just cherry on top.

Islam Makhachev is used to negativity. He was at the receiving end of it in Newark ahead of the Poirier fight. The crowd was letting him have it, only for the young Dagestani to shush them.

Islam Makhachev silences the crowd after repeated boos ahead of Dustin Poirier fight

The UFC 302 ceremonial weigh-ins did not go to plan for Makhachev. The Newark fans booed the champion every time he got on stage. While it seems cool now, Islam’s face as he promised the crowd to show them what a true P4P chart-topper looked like.

Islam Makhachev silenced the crowd during an interview with Joe Rogan on stage, in what could be considered his, “Alhamdulillah… tomorrow, I am gonna smash your boy, guys“.

“I will show you guys what they mean pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. See you tomorrow.”

 

Islam Makhachev’s last words before his fight against Dustin Poirier at #UFC302

“I will show you guys what they mean pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”

@ufc #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/KOCv8ZxqA5

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) May 31, 2024

Islam Makhachev didn’t even address the question about Dustin Poirier. Instead, he was focused on the crowd who were booing him, almost as if he was keeping receipts. He even got into an altercation with Poirier, after the latter referred to him as a ‘motherf*cker’ and promised to put him to sleep.

So Dustin better bring his A-game because if Islam is actually keeping receipts, UFC 302 is when he’s coming to collect.