Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez has named his teammate Islam Makhachev as the No.1 lightweight of all time - ahead of the legendary former champion.
Makhachev will finally get his chance at the gold later this month at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, when he faces top-ranked lightweight Charles Oliveira for the vacant title. And with two weeks until fight night, his coach believes that Makhachev is showing signs of being the greatest in the history of his weight class.
Oliveira is the champion in all but name, winning the belt last year after Nurmagomedov had vacated it, and winning his following two defences against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. He missed weight by half-a-pound for the Gaethje bout and was stripped of the belt as a result, meaning the title was only on the line for Gaethje in that fight.
Mendez believes that Makhachev will prove his world level credentials when he steps in with Oliveira on October 22 at the Etihad Arena. The Russian is 22-1 as a professional, but will be taking a massive step-up in competition when he faces someone who has stopped the likes of Michael Chandler, Poirier and Gaethje.
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with until you’re dealing with him,” Mendez told Submission Radio of Makhachev. “That’s what everybody that’s dealt with Islam, they thought they could do better, until they get in there and they didn’t. He is so well-rounded. I am going on record saying as the lightweight, he is hands down the No. 1 of all time, best in all areas.
“No. 1 of all time, Islam Makhachev. Best defense, best striking, best everywhere. The best all-around athlete. Way, way back in the day I thought it was Frank Shamrock that was the best well-rounded athlete, and he was in all divisions. But in the lightweight division, for me, the person that’s the best-rounded in every single area is Islam Makhachev.”
The common belief in MMA circles is that Nurmagomedov is the most dominant fighter in the sport's history, even if some fans and experts would place him below the likes of Georges St-Pierre or Kamaru Usman on the all-time pound-for-pound list. However, Mendez has told of how Makhachev has taken sparring session wins over him, and will stun fans this month.
Who are you picking between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
“In all the history, since 2012, since Khabib’s been doing sparring with me in front of my eyes, there has been nobody that’s ever taken a round from him,” Mendez continued. “No one’s ever won a sparring session - not a sparring session - with Khabib ever, except one man: Islam.
"He’s the only one that has won rounds from Khabib. Never won a session, but he’s won rounds. And I’ve never seen that. So, obviously, when Khabib talks about the next heir, he’s not saying something that he’s trying to make up and make people believe. He knows, like I know, how good his Islam is.
"That’s why he’s so confident in what he’s saying. Khabib’s not known to say something that he doesn’t mean. And he means it, I mean it. And now it’s time for Islam to go out there and shine and let everybody know what Khabib already knows and I know, that he’s the best right now. He is the best. And we have to prove it and we will prove it.”
