Ikram Aliskerov: “In terms of physical qualities, Makhachev will definitely not be inferior to welterweight”

Middleweight MMA fighter Ikram Aliskerov in an interview with he commented on the latest episode of the battle Islam Makhacheva With Dustin Poirier and assessed the chances of the Russian welterweight champion.

Makhachev defeated Poirier on June 1 at UFC 302 in the United States. The Russian won by fifth-round submission and retained the UFC lightweight championship belt.

— Islam made a very nice takedown in the fifth round: he picked up Dustin Poirier’s leg and turned him around. Does he do that in training?

– It’s rather a stone’s throw from the Wushu-Sanda base, the Sandaists do it. This shows the level of Islam, so it can overthrow and strangle, it is the highest level. No one knew such a withdrawal existed, but he showed it to the world. I saw it and they did it in training, but not many people in the world knew this technique.

— You saw it in training, will it be a problem for Islam Makhachev to move into the under 77 kg category and take the belt there?

— In terms of physical qualities, Islam is certainly not inferior to welterweights. I don’t know how he will approach a particular fight, but in general he will overcome that obstacle. I base that on who he trains and how he trains. The boy is physically very strong,” Aliskerov told .

Aliskerov urgently came to replace Khamzat Chimaev at the UFC tournament in Saudi Arabia. The Russian will fight his third UFC fight against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on June 22. Aliskerov began training at a joint training camp with Makhachev in Kislovodsk.

All UFC tournaments are broadcast live on and Match! Fighter”. The UFC tournament in Saudi Arabia will take place on June 22. Watch the live broadcast from 22:00 Moscow time on Saturday on the channel, as well as from 19:00 on Saturday on Match! Fighter” and the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

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