Islam Makhachev has an opportunity to make historical past on Saturday if he defeats Arman Tsarukyan within the UFC 311 major occasion.
A win would mark Makhachev’s fourth consecutive title protection at 155 kilos, which might set a brand new report surpassing his coach and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov after he retired with three straight defenses of the light-weight belt. After all, Nurmagomedov additionally left the game with an ideal 29-0 report, and barely dropping any rounds throughout his profession, and that’s why he’s largely thought of the best light-weight to compete in MMA.
But when Makhachev surpasses Nurmagomedov’s title protection report, does he usurp “The Eagle” as the very best light-weight within the historical past of the game?
“It’s a really subjective factor, particularly the place they’re at proper now,” Matt Brown defined on the newest episode of The Fighter vs. The Author. “Like Jon Jones is to the purpose the place there’s not quite a lot of debate. The one debate is steroid stuff. That’s actually your solely argument of him being the best of all time or not. Once you have a look at his report, he’s the best of all time. Interval. It’s only a reality.
“However I believe Islam — if he beats Arman — he’s nonetheless in that section the place there’s some debate.”
Whereas it’s unlikely that Makhachev or Nurmagomedov actually care a lot about who sits atop that legendary record, it’s nonetheless an argument amongst followers, fighters and media about who deserves to be touted as the best of all time.
Maybe the largest argument working towards Makhachev can be the lone loss on his report from 2015 whereas Nurmagomedov retired undefeated.
However Brown doesn’t purchase that losses actually diminish an total resume, particularly if you start drilling right down to particulars like the extent of competitors any person faces or the kind of dominance displayed whereas placing collectively a championship reign.
Look no additional than the game of boxing the place Floyd Mayweather retired with an ideal 50-0 report, and whereas there are those that would argue that he’s the best of all time, many specialists nonetheless put legends reminiscent of “Sugar” Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali atop these lists regardless of quite a few defeats on their data.
“For me, personally, the losses don’t take away from that,” Brown stated. “You’ll be able to’t say [Islam] had a loss and [Khabib] didn’t. You lose if you struggle above your degree. If Khabib would have fought B.J. Penn for his debut professional struggle, B.J. in all probability would have beat him.
“Should you’re preventing guys at your degree or under, you win and in case you struggle guys above your degree, you lose. Once you get to the highest, now you’re preventing for the title, you’re the very best on the planet, now it involves title defenses for the best of all-time. We actually need to put Islam in that dialog. If something, the loss exhibits me you possibly can work by way of some adversity.”
Brown believes on an extended sufficient timeline nearly each fighter in MMA might be going to expertise a defeat at one time or one other. In Makhachev’s case, that got here earlier in his UFC profession whereas Nurmagomedov retired within the prime of his profession at 29-0 so it’s unattainable to know what might need occurred if he continued preventing.
“On this sport, everyone has a weak point,” Brown stated. “Should you struggle lengthy sufficient, you’ll lose. That’s the sport. You struggle typically sufficient, sufficient individuals, you set your self on the market sufficient, you’ll lose.
“With all of the credit score we give to Jon Jones, at heavyweight he has picked his fights. At mild heavyweight, there’s arguments he misplaced a few these fights. So the losses aren’t actually to me what’s going to discredit somebody from being in that biggest of all-time argument.”
When it comes particularly to Makhachev’s standing at light-weight, Brown doesn’t see how anybody might disregard him with another title protection whereas additionally including one other top-ranked fighter like Tsarukyan to his resume.
Clearly, Makhachev might flip a couple of extra heads if he goes out and mauls Tsarukyan like he’s completed so many previous opponents, however Brown believes any sort of win ought to earn him that recognition to face shoulder to shoulder with somebody like Nurmagomedov.
“For me personally, Islam wins this struggle, he’s on the high of that record,” Brown stated. “Then you definately’ve acquired to look into the nitty gritty particulars of him versus Khabib, who’s better, or possibly B.J. nonetheless. I believe there’s an excellent argument that B.J. was the best [lightweight] ever.”
“Particularly if [Islam] beats Arman, he’s positively within the debate. It turns into a debate. We’re debating nitty gritty particulars, proper? We’ll see how he seems towards Arman, various things like that. As a result of it’s going to come back right down to the main points.”
