Khabib Nurmagomedov brought with him a wave of Dagestani fighters into the UFC. There were Russian fighters in the UFC before Nurmagomedov, however, none of them achieved the level of fame and success that ‘The Eagle’ did. The legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his father Abdulmanap is now being carried forward in the UFC by the likes of Islam Makhachev.
Ever since he joined the UFC, ‘The Eagle’ had been building up Islam Makhachev as his eventual successor. Nurmagomedov always asserted that the lightweight division would be dominated by Makhachev once he was done fighting. The two men have known each other and trained with each other for over two decades now. In a video from 2020, ‘The Eagle’ revealed his first impressions of Islam Makhachev. He said,
“You know what is interesting, it was 2000 like 21 years ago. We were going to same school with Islam and he was younger than me like three years. And it was like in gym they go to one tournament in other city. He and my big brother Shamil, they go like 15 people and only two guys become champion, Islam and Shamil. Okay Shamil is the champion I understand, but who are you? He is like small guy 24 kgs. He come back with gold medal.”
Nurmagomedov recalled an incident where he mentioned how surprised he was when Makhachev won a gold medal along with his brother Shamil. According to ‘The Eagle’, Makhachev along with Shamil and around 15 people had gone for a tournament in another city.
The current UFC lightweight champion is currently at the top of the UFC’s men’s P4P rankings. The feat was previously achieved by his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. Let’s take a look at what could be next for Islam Makhachev to cement his legacy in the UFC
Islam Makhachev to achieve what Khabib Nurmagomedov could not in the UFC?
Almost two years after Nurmagomedov’s retirement, Makhachev finished Charles Oliveira in the second round at UFC 280 to win the lightweight title. He has since gone on to defend the belt twice which is the same number as his mentor. Makhachev now has the chance to achieve something ‘The Eagle’ never did.
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If he is able to defend his title once again, Makhachev should aim to move up and win a second belt. This will allow him to cement his own legacy in the sport completely independent of ‘The Eagle’.
The welterweight title will be on the line in a few weeks time as Colby Covington and Leon Edwards fight it out at UFC 296. Arguably, both fights are favourable matchups for Makhachev. He has fought a champion from another weight class twice and come out victorious both times.
However, this time around he can join the likes of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier among others. He can become a simultaneous two division world champions in the UFC and define his legacy. It will be interesting to see if he does achieve the feat in the UFC with all eyes now on the main event of UFC 296.
