In the UFC, only two lightweights have become the pound-for-pound kings. One is Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the other is Islam Makhachev, his protege and current pound-for-pound king. Recently, welterweight contender Belal Muhammad compared the duo to NBA legends.
Dana White recently announced Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards as the main event of UFC 304 in Manchester. Muhammad had trained with Nurmagomedov and Makhachev and was privy to their quality. As such, he compared the duo to Michael Jordan and LeBron James in an interview with MMAJunkie.
Anytime you get to hang out with those guy…I’m training with the Michael Jordan of the sport in Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and Islam [is] basically like the LeBron James of the sport, so it’s always good to get those feels with those guys.
Belal Muhammad via MMAJunkie
Since Makhachev became the champion, the MMA community has pondered who is better between him and Nurmagomedov. Muhammad found a way to make an interesting comparison between them and the NBA legends. Nonetheless, the NBA community is split on who among Michael Jordan and LeBron James is the GOAT. The consensus is that Jordan was the greatest of his era, while LeBron reigned as the king of this era.
The consensus among MMA fans is that Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are similar but entirely different fighters. Nurmagomedov’s mentality, ground-and-pound, and aggression are considered better than his protege. However, Makhachev has the presumed edge in the striking and grappling departments. Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov has created a bigger impact in the sport than Makhachev, similar to Jordan’s impact being superior to James’.
Khabib Nurmagomedov fondly remembers the first time he met Islam Makhachev
The late Abdulmanap, the father of Khabib Nurmagomedov, was responsible for his son’s UFC success and his favorite student Islam Makhachev. Adbulmanap considered Makhachev like a son, as evidenced by what he said about their relationship.
Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov (via MMA Fighting) Nurmagomedov once fondly remembered the first time he knew of Makhachev. It was when he did an interview for EA Sports with Daniel Cormier. The interview was in Dubai, days before UFC 267, where Makhachev easily defeated Dan Hooker via first-round submission.
2000, like, 21 years ago, we’re going to the same school with Islam [Makhachev], and he was younger than me, like, 3 years, and it was like in gym, they go to the one tournament in another city. He and my big brother Shamil, like, they go, like, 15 people, only two guys become Champion. Islam and Shamil. Okay, Shamir is a champion. I understand who you are, are you? He’s like, small guy, like, 24 kilos.
Khabib Nurmagomedov via EA Sports Interview
At the time, Makhachev was the 5th in the lightweight rankings. Nurmagomedov boldly predicted his protege would become champion and was also the best fighter on the planet. Interestingly, Nurmagomedov refused to answer Cormier’s question of who would’ve won if they fought in their prime.
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