What you need to know before reading this text.
Islam Makhachev defended the UFC championship belt for the third time. If he defends in the fourth, he will surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov in this indicator and become the best in lightweight history.
His unbeaten streak in the UFC is 14 fights. Three more wins will make Islam the best in UFC history.
Dustin Poirier fought Islam for four rounds and still got choked out in the fifth. What surprised me was that Poirier was good in technical defense, but at the same time he was crushed in the stand: 81 – 53 in head strikes, 147 – 104 in total strikes.
Makhachev now has two options: take revenge on Arman Tsarukyan, the number one lightweight, or ask the UFC to fight for the belt in the next weight category – up to 77 kg. Leon Edwards holds the title there.
Most likely, Makhachev will have another fight this year at the UFC in Abu Dhabi in October.
Kamil Gadzhiev: “Porrier never came close to the finish line”
— Share your thoughts on the battle.
– No matter what they say about this fight… And I imagine what kind of conversations might arise. They will perhaps say that Islam is not that good, that the bookmakers were wrong… Poirier never found the keys to Islam. And all his merit was in not having let himself be caught in the first round. And then, I would call Islam’s attempt to act quickly an error. He paid for it by not looking fresh enough in the third and fourth rounds. And in context, Poirier started to look good. But it’s just “not bad”, and nothing more. In the third and fourth rounds, what did Poirier do? I just wouldn’t let myself transfer. Did he shoot Islam while standing? No. Was he surprised? I do not want to say. He gave energy to this fight. He made some noise and said, “Let’s fight.” In that regard, he’s great. But Poirier himself never approached the finish line and made no attempts. Even though we remember the fight with Khabib, in that fight Poirier clearly tried to guillotine Khabib. And in this battle, there was nothing like it.
— Compare the three defenses of Habib and the three defenses of Islam?
— Khabib, of course, looked more confident. If you take all of Islam’s defenses, you can really see that he had problems in the first fight with Volkanovski. He had some problems with Poirier. But I wouldn’t overestimate the importance of these issues. Although Khabib looked more confident. To put it harshly, Khabib definitely looked a little more confident on defense than in Islam. Is this any reason for me to say that Khabib was the most dominant champion? No, I wouldn’t say that. Islam already aspires to the same dominance in the lightweight division as Khabib, while it is not even clear who to consider as his opponent. The transition to the category up to 77 kilograms is therefore looming. And I said the same thing about Khabib. It’s not clear how to defeat Islam, so the only option is to move up to 77 and fight Edwards.
Badaev: “Definitely a rematch with Tsarukyan”
— Were you surprised that Poirier didn’t allow himself to move for so long, especially at times when Islam had his back and tried to strangle him?
“Dustin understood what was ahead of him, what he would have to face, and it was clear that he had done a very good job specifically for Islam. First of all, it’s probably worth noting that it’s protected from translations. When it comes to grappling or ground fighting, Dustin has always had a good ground game. Another thing is that Khabib crushed him with his power, just crushed him. But Islam still does not have this power. Dustin could therefore afford to leave due to certain shortcomings. Get up after attempting a kimura, get out of the mount. There was an understanding that would have to be endured, and Poirier did a good job here.
Perhaps Islam should have tried not to abandon this position. The same Khabib, if he took a position, he did not give it up. Islam has worked a little more carelessly in this regard. But on the other hand, it gave us intrigue in the battle. At the same time, Islam outperformed Poirier on the rostrum: with rare exceptions, when Dustin cut his elbow, Islam was much better.
— It seems that in modern MMA one episode becomes a stalemate if one gains the upper hand, and the second defends well against the classic choke – this happened in the first round and in several subsequent episodes.
– We must understand that, on the one hand, there are gloves; it is more difficult to connect the handle with gloves; Second, fatigue. Third, the sport is really evolving, fighters have become much more versatile. And that allows them to stop themselves from doing something. Now, in principle, it is very difficult to organize a reception at a high level. I think today a more feasible plan is to take a stand and try to break up. Use hits to cause damage and then do your job.
– Reduction of Islam may create the erroneous impression that Islam lost the fight in the stand-up and won in the fight. We both understand that Islam was much better in stand-up?
— The cut is only an instant, the elbow which was in the clinch. And that’s how Islam interrupted him significantly: both at range and in the clinch, except for rare moments when he missed uppercuts to the body. But I used knees, uppercuts and elbows, I remember that. There have been many more strikes coming from Islam. Yes, some would say it was due to the threat of wrestling, as Dustin had to worry about transfer possibilities. But the fact remains a fact nonetheless. Once again, Poirier’s main merit is to have been more competitive than expected. But overall it was surpassed in every way.
– Which fight is more interesting for you: defending the lightweight belt with Tsarukyan or trying to win a second title in a fight with Edwards?
– Definitely with Tsarukyan, because I think there will be some intrigue in this fight. I think that today Armand, after witnessing the fight between Islam and Poirier, has drawn certain conclusions for himself. I saw a lot of things where he could be more successful than Poirier. He has better wrestling and is in good physical and functional condition. In stand-up, of course, I think Arman will lose in the fight against Islam, but overall it seems to me that it will be a more competitive fight. And Islam could benefit from breaking this record for the number of defenses. Make history as the most dominant lightweight. I think this is too tempting an opportunity not to try.
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Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
