As arguably the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC right now, we decided to take a deep dive into the MMA career of Islam Makhachev. Read on to find out more about his MMA resumé, previous fights and his UFC title record.
Islam Makhachev Record
Islam Makhachev turned professional back in 2010 with a debut victory against Magomed Bekbolatov in Tsumadinsky, Russia. Since then, Makhachev has had another 25 professional MMA fights, winning all but one of them.
Makhachev’s career has been nothing short of magnificent to date. The Dagestani MMA star is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, having successfully defended the belt on two occasions after originally winning the title back in October 2022 at UFC 280.
Islam Makhachev is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet right now, of that there is no question. His career up to now has been sensational, and he still has some big nights left before he hangs his gloves up. You wouldn’t rule him out becoming a multi-division champion in the UFC before he retires.
As previously mentioned, Islam Makhachev made his professional MMA debut well over a decade ago now. He was on a Tsumada Fighting Championship 4 card where he made the perfect start to his career by winning via decision. Makhachev then had 10 more fights as a pro MMA fighter before signing a deal with Dana White and the UFC.
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On his debut in the UFC, Makhachev showed us all what the hype was about, moving to 12-0 with a rear-naked choke submission in Round 2 against Leo Kuntz. However, Makhachev was brought back down to earth in his second UFC outing, losing via knockout to Adriano Martins inside a round in what was deemed a huge upset.
However, since then Makhachev has bounced back in style. He has won his last 13 fights on the trot, putting that knockout defeat well behind him. Makhachev beat the likes of Chris Wade, Nik Lentz, Gleison Tibau and Kajan Johnson next, before stepping into a real 50/50 fight with Arman Tsarukyan.
Makhachev passed that test with flying colours, before then backing the Tsarukyan win up by beating Davi Ramos, Drew Dober, Thiago Moisés and Dan Hooker. Of these four fights, the Dagestani machine won three of them via submission.
Then, in his last UFC fight before fighting for the title, Makhachev knocked out Bobby Green in style in Round 1 of their 160-pound catchweight bout. Up next was his shot at UFC gold. A fight with Charles Oliveira for the UFC Lightweight Title at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
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Makhachev put on arguably his best career performance, submitting the long-reigning champion in Round 2 of their contest to become the new king at 155-pounds. Then came Makhachev’s first defense – a fight with UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski in the main event at UFC 284.
In what was an incredibly close encounter, Makhachev was given the nod via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards in Perth. It was a successful first defense for the Russian beast, which he backed up in emphatic fashion at UFC 294 in his rematch with Volkanovski.
Makhachev demolished the Aussie in the very first round of the bout, knocking ‘Volk’ out with a head-kick followed by some ground-and-pound. That takes us up to now in the career of Islam Makhachev.
There is a genuine argument that he is right up there in the Top 3 of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings right now, if not the very best at #1.
Be sure to claim the various sports betting apps bonuses and UFC free bets available on the SportsLens site ahead of Makhachev’s next fight.
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