Current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, meanwhile, has long been hailed as Nurmagomedov's second coming. In the early days of Makhachev's UFC career, that comparison was harder to justify.
Khamzat Chimaev is not quite sure about Islam Makhachev’s jump ... who has been waiting in the wings for a long time. Charles Oliveira, too, challenged Makhachev for his title recently.
Islam Makhachev’s UFC 311 title defense was expected to be one of the most difficult ones. Scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan, the champion had a lot of predictions coming in favoring his loss.