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Former MMA referee ‘Big' John McCarthy has words of high praise for Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nurmagomedov’s longtime teammate Islam Makhachev.
McCarthy and former UFC lightweight star Josh Thomson appeared on former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub’s show Below The Belt.
During their conversation, John McCarthy spoke about UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev and retired MMA megastar Khabib Nurmagomedov. McCarthy believes that if Makhachev is to ascend to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s level, he needs to improve his confidence and mental strength. ‘Big’ John stated:
“I was really impressed when he fought Drew Dober and what he did; to get the tap that he got from shoulder pressure on the neck, that’s telling you how heavy he is.”
John McCarthy revealed that Josh Thomson, Makhachev’s longtime training partner, later said that the spectacular third-round submission win over Dober wasn’t Makhachev’s best performance. McCarthy continued:
“And that’s what he (Thomson) wants. He wants more out of him. But then our second one, what you (Brendan Schaub) are talking about is, he (Thomson) is trying to say that he (Makhachev) has done as good as Khabib or has fought as good as Khabib... No, Khabib has a confidence, that Islam does not… I will tell you, like, being in the ring with Khabib, I’ve never watched a fighter that was more dominant in every minute of the fight than Khabib. And so, Islam’s not there yet. He’s not. Through his first 10 (UFC fights), he’s not there.”
Watch the video below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov's friend Islam Makhachev is on a collision course with the lightweight elites
John McCarthy explained that Makhachev ought to strengthen himself in the mental realm of fighting to defeat the top lightweights in the world, much like Khabib Nurmagomedov did. The veteran referee said:
“Confidence. And it’s getting wins. And it’s having fights like he did have because Thiago Moises is a good fighter, but he’s not that top-level guy. He’s in the (top) 15. Now, he’s a good fighter at 14-15. When you get into the top-10, now you’re talking guys – Again, we’re talking little, tiny, hundreds of percentage points here that are the difference of now you’re fighting a guy that’s a Dustin Poirier.” (*Video courtesy: BELOW THE BELT with Brendan Schaub; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
McCarthy suggested that an elite fighter like Poirier would currently have a mental advantage over Islam Makhachev. No.5-ranked Makhachev is set to fight former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 267 on October 30.
