Over the years, competition has increased in sports and fans have been able to witness greatness across all realms of sports. During these times, comparison has become a commonality when it comes to judging an athlete. When we take all comparisons into accound, one of the biggest compliments a athlete can recieve is to be compared with Michael Jordan. Due to the achievements and mentality of Jordan it would take nothing short of extraordinary to be compared with the basketball legend. Thus, it would have been a great moment of joy for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev when a former UFC middleweight champion compared him with Michael Jordan. This comparison isn’t new as Makhachev’s teammate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov was also compared with the NBA legend.
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Islam Makhachev is currently in preparation to defend his title for the second time against former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 294. However, if we take a step back and look at Makhachev’s career in the UFC, he has come a long way since his defeat against Adriano Martins at UFC 192.
It was only his second fight for the promotion and he was still trying to make a mark at UFC. However, since than he his victories have been quite dominating to say the least and defeated everyone he has fought. He was so good that a former UFC middleweight champion who sparred with him compared him to Michael Jordan.
Islam Makhachev Michael Jordan of MMA?
Back when Makhachev was sparring with Luke Rockhold, the former middleweight champion was quite surprised by how good the Russian was. According to the Dagestani, when Rockhold was preparing for the Machida fight, Makhachev helped Rockhold prepare since his opponent was a southpaw. During the sparring sessions, Makhachev used to complete takedowns on Rockhold which really agitated the middleweight fighter.
Makhachev said, “Yes, he was really angry, and always very focused on our sparring, like, ‘You’re not going to do that [Takedown] today! And then he said, ‘You are like Jordan in basketball in terms of those throws.“
What’s more, similar to disciple Makhachev, coach Khabib Nurmagomedov was also subject to Jordan comparison from a UFC welterweight fighter who used to train with him. ‘The Eagle’ has been a huge fan of Michael Jordan and voiced his interest in meeting the legend as well.
When Khabib Nurmagomedov was compared with Jordan
Former UFC lightweight champion used to spar with Belal Muhammad. Muhammad was preparing to fight now UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Since Muhammad was sparring with ‘The Eagle’ he was able to understand just how great Nurmagomedov really was.
Muhammad said, “Being able to actually train and move and learn from him was even better too because you’re learning from the G.O.A.T. You’re learning from the Michael Jordan of your sport. Khabib’s still in his prime.”
Muhammad and Nurmagomedov both are quite good at wrestling. Thus, it was quite fascinating for a fighter in a weightclass above Nurmagomedov specializing in wrestling speak so highly about the Dagestani fighter. These comparison just showcases how great the Dagestani duo are at their craft.
