Islam Makhachev News

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2021

Drew Dober always had his eye on Islam Makhachev. On the main card of Saturday’s stacked UFC 259 event, Dober is set to return against Makhachev. Although not many were interested in fighting the Russian, Dober was the one who asked for this fight.

Cole Shelton - March 1, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes no one will beat his pupil, Islam Makhachev. Makhachev is the main training partner of Nurmagomedov and many call him his protégé. Since “The Eagle” retired, he also passed along the torch to Makhachev who many inside AKA believe is destined to be a future champion. Although he is still ranked outside the top-10, Nurmagomedov believes his fellow Dagestani native will be the champion by the end of 2021.

Drake Riggs - February 9, 2021

Islam Makhachev is finally set to make his highly anticipated return. Welcoming him back to the Octagon will be the streaking Nebraskan, Drew Dober. At 18-1 and training the majority of his career alongside the undefeated lightweight king, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has garnered a lot of attention in his own right. However, Dober believes that can mostly be attributed to his connection with “The Eagle.”

Adam Martin - January 3, 2021

MMA analyst Daniel Cormier praised Islam Makhachev, suggesting the AKA product is one of the most talented fighters in the world. Cormier and Makhachev are teammates at American Kickboxing Academy, alongside UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. With the champion contemplating retirement, fans and media have wondered who could make a run up the division if Nurmagomedov does indeed hang up his gloves. One of those fighters could be Makhachev, the No. 13 ranked UFC lightweight. The Russian is 7-1 overall in the UFC and is in his prime at 29 years old.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2020

UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev reacted to Rafael dos Anjos’ win over Paul Felder, by saying “Let’s finish our business in nearest future.” Makhachev was set to take on dos Anjos at UFC 254 in October, but RDA was forced to withdraw from the bout due to testing positive for COVID-19. The UFC then booked Makhachev and RDA in their own headliner on the UFC Vegas 14 card two weeks later, but Makhachev was forced out of the fight due to health issues. In turn, Paul Felder stepped in on five days’ notice and saved the card. The rest, as they say, is history.

Harry Kettle - November 9, 2020

UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev has released a statement after being forced out of his proposed main event against Rafael dos Anjos. After their bout at UFC 254 was called off due to dos Anjos testing positive for COVID-19, the two men were paired together in the main event of UFC Vegas 14. That fight was set to take place this Saturday night at the UFC APEX but now, Makhachev will have to once again wait for a new date – and potentially a new opponent – as he continues his road to recovery.

Adam Martin - October 23, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that top lightweight contender Islam Makhachev will headline an upcoming card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Makhachev was originally set to take on former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at this weekend’s UFC 254 card. However, the fight was scratched after RDA tested positive for COVID-19. Rather than keep Makhachev on the card against another opponent, the UFC has instead decided to re-book the fight between Makhachev and RDA for the UFC Vegas card on November 14, as we previously reported on BJPenn.com.

Tom Taylor - October 20, 2020

A lightweight fight between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos has been rescheduled for UFC Vegas 15 on November 14. This news was first reported by MMADNA.nl.

Chris Taylor - October 10, 2020

Dominance MMA owner Ali Abdelaziz has made a unique offer to Tony Ferguson in hopes of persuading ‘El Cucuy’ to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 254. Makhachev (18-1 MMA) was originally slated to square off with Rafael dos Anjos at this month’s pay-per-view event on Yas Island. However, ‘RDA’ was forced to withdraw from the contest after contracting the dreaded Coronavirus.

Andrew Whitelaw - October 8, 2020

Ali Abdelaziz has made an offer to Tony Ferguson. The Dominance MMA CEO tweeted to El Cucuy, asking him if he wanted to step in to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 254. His client is currently without an opponent, after news dropped that Rafael Dos Anjos was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2020

Islam Makhachev is looking to remain on UFC 254 and is hoping Michael Chandler will step up. Makhachev was originally supposed to fight Rafael dos Anjos, yet the Brazilian announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is out of the fight. So, for Makhachev, he hopes Chandler, who is serving as the backup for UFC 254’s title fight will step up.

Harry Kettle - September 23, 2020

UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos is reinventing himself ahead of another push to try and claim a UFC championship. Dos Anjos is a popular figure within the mixed martial arts community and is known as a true legend of the game. However, with his 36th birthday coming up next month, some believe that his time as an elite fighter is coming to an end.

Adam Martin - March 1, 2020

An exciting lightweight bout between top-15 ranked Islam Makhachev and Alexander Hernandez is the latest addition to UFC 249. MMAjunkie.com reported that Makhachev vs. Hernandez has been verbally agreed to for UFC 249, which takes place on April 18 at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main event sees UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov take on Tony Ferguson.

Cole Shelton - January 30, 2020

Kevin Lee has made it clear he is looking to sign two bout agreements at once. Lee is set to headline UFC Brasilia against Charles Oliveira on March 14, yet many expected him to fight Islam Makhachev. After Lee knocked out Gregor Gillespie, he and the Russian went back-and-forth and agreed to fight one another on social media. But, according to “The Motown Phenom” why it isn’t happening next is because Makhachev wanted to wait until June.

Cole Shelton - January 14, 2020

Islam Makhachev believes Kevin Lee took the easy way out by not fighting him. In the main event of UFC Brasilia, Lee will battle Charles Oliveira which kind of came out of nowhere to many. Especially given the fact, Makhachev and “Motown Phenom” have been going back-and-forth for several months now about a possible fight and it only intensified after Lee knocked out Gregor Gillespie. Both sides seemed interested in the fight but for whatever reasons they could not come to terms.

Natasha Hooper - January 6, 2020

Islam Makhachev has his sights set on his next opponent and won’t back down. The Dagestani fighter took to Twitter to try and force Dana White’s hand and organize a matchup against Kevin Lee. Makhachev has tallied 7 wins and only 1 professional loss since making his UFC debut in 2015. Alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov and Zabit Magomedsharipov, the accomplished fighter is regarded amongst the best fighters to come out of Russia.

Adam Martin - November 3, 2019

Fresh off a massive head kick KO over Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244, lightweight contender Kevin Lee and his rival Islam Makhachev have agreed to a fight. Immediately after Lee knocked out Gillespie, Makhachev took to his Twitter and congratulated Lee on the win and challenged him to a fight. Here’s what the Russian said.

Adam D Martin - October 27, 2019

UFC superstar Conor McGregor took a shot at Russian standout Islam Makhachev, and the two got into an exchange of words on social media. The father of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abdulmanap recently said he believes that Conor McGregor should fight Makhachev, who is a training partner of Khabib. McGregor evidently does not agree with what Khabib’s father suggested and took to his Twitter account to turn down the fight.