Islam Makhachev's manager declares feat that would elevate P4P king to GOAT status

One of the biggest conversations in MMA today is Islam Makhachev's decision to vacate the UFC lightweight throne and move up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena. This is while Makhachev is on top of the division, setting the record for the most title fight wins and most consecutive title defenses. Moreover, he's on top of the current UFC pound-for-pound list.

To his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, the Dagestani champion is the most dominant fighter in the UFC right now. However, if Makhachev wants to achieve undeniable GOAT status, Abdelaziz believes he only has to secure two more title defenses. He tweeted:

"@MAKHACHEVMMA most dominant UFC fighter right now two more title defence he will be the greatest of all the time."

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's post below:

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This is a bold statement. At the moment, the man who is largely considered the greatest of all time is Jon Jones, who has set the record for most UFC title defenses with 12 and the longest unbeaten streak at 20. At the moment, Islam Makhachev has a total of four title defenses and a winning streak of 15. If we talk numbers alone, the Dagestani wrestling machine has a bit of a ways to go to break Jones' records.

Islam Makhachev's manager believes he's still the lightweight champion

Speaking of Ali Abdelaziz singing Islam Makhachev's praises, the high-profile MMA manager addressed his fighter's decision to leave lightweight and attempt to conquer welterweight. By UFC 317 next month, the 155-pound division will hang in the balance as Ilia Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the vacant throne.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Abdelaziz was asked if we'll still see Islam Makhachev at lightweight to challenge the winner of the main event of UFC 317, granted he wins the 170-pound strap. Abdelaziz said:

"He [Makhachev] will have the two belt on top of his shoulder because he's still the lightweight champion. Listen, you have two guys fighting like, when Khabib [Nurmagomedov] retired as a lightweight champion, you understand, as pound-for-pound number one king. Islam is the pound-for-pound number one king. He never lost his title, you understand? You know, and you never know."

He ended the statement by saying:

"I believe Islam will be the welterweight champion and he'll be a double champion."

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (3:06):

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi