Islam Makhachev is undoubtedly the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the UFC. The lightweight king has proved again and again why he is the most complete champion. When it comes to achievements, some might put him ahead of Khabib Nurmagomedov as the lightweight GOAT and I would agree.
Failures make a fighter strong and the Dagestani star was able to experience that early in his career in 2015. Since then, he has been on a dominant 15-win winning streak and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. His latest win came at UFC 311 even though he finished his opponent in the very first round.
Makahchev trained under the legendary Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov and now is mentored by ‘The Eagle’ himself. The discipline and determination instilled in him from an early age have made him a dominating machine. The fighter has the tools to beat fighters from any background, especially from BJJ and its an understatement.
Islam Makhachev’s beef with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts
From knocking out his opponents to submitting Brazilian black belt holders, Islam Makhachev just goes through all of them. The Dagestani with his Russian sambo background doesn’t necessarily respect BJJ experts. A few years ago, Makhachev went viral for his comments on UFC fighters having fake BJJ black belts.
Islam Makhachev’s dominance over BJJ black belts (via Instagram/X)He promised to check these fighter’s BJJ skillset and it’s safe to say he has been quite successful in it. Up until now, he has submitted five BJJ black belts in his UFC career. In this article, let’s learn about all the BJJ black holders who fell prey to the lightweight champion.
Top BJJ black belts who got submitted by Islam Makhachev in the UFC
The biggest BJJ black belt expert in the UFC is undoubtedly Charles Oliveira, who has the record of most submission in UFC history. However, against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, ‘Do Bronx’ fell short and got tapped out in the second round. Talk about proving a point and nobody does it better than Makhachev.
Islam Makhachev submits Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier (via X/MMA Fighting)Recently, he submitted two BJJ black belt holders, Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. While the Poirier fight was competitive, Makhachev submitted the Brazilian in the very first round. On both occasions, the Dagestani used his favorite D’Arce choke which forced the fighters to tap immediately.
If sambo was easy, it would be called Jiu-jitsu
Other BJJ black belts who were submitted by Islam Makhachev are Thiago Moises and Kajan Johnson via rear-naked and arm-bar respectively. In most of these fights, the Dagestani also out-stuck and dominated his opponents at all levels.
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev don’t credit BJJ (via Instagram/X)There are a few other BJJ black belts like Gleison Tibau, Davi Ramos, and Alexander Volkanovski who also lost to Makhachev. However, they didn’t lose via submission, which makes them my honorable mentions in the list.
This war against BJJ black belts was started by Khabib Nurmagomedov and was carried forward proudly by Makhachev. Currently, the pound-for-pound king is ready to move up to the welterweight division. Is it possible for some BJJ black belts from 170 lbs to stop this domination? Possible but highly unlikely.
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