5 exciting up-and-comers who could break out in the UFC in 2018

#3 Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev finished Gleison Tibau violently at UFC 220

A friend and teammate of Khabib Nurmagomedov, the hype on Islam Makhachev was off the charts when he debuted in the UFC in 2015 by throwing around and submitting Leo Kuntz. That hype train was derailed somewhat in his next fight, though – his wild striking got him into trouble and eventually got him knocked out in a tough fight against Adriano Martins. After this, Makhachev took almost a year away from the Octagon.

Since returning, he’s largely gone back to his grappling-based routes – combat sambo, the same as all the monstrous fighters emerging from Dagestan recently – and those skills allowed him to comfortably outgrapple and outpoint both Chris Wade and Nik Lentz. But this past weekend he demonstrated massively improved striking too by turning the lights out on longtime veteran Gleison Tibau in less than a minute.

If Makhachev’s striking is indeed catching up to that dangerous grappling game – full of submissions, brutal ground-and-pound, and wild throws – then we could be looking at a fighter to watch, even in the UFC’s most loaded division. Grapplers like Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa have risen to the top of the division with similar games, but with his natural athleticism, Makhachev could well eclipse all of them. Could he be the next Khabib? Quite possibly.