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Beneil Dariush believes that despite having similar fighting styles, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are different fighters. While both Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are known for their impeccable grappling skills, Dariush has noted some basic differences in their approach towards fighting.
According to Dariush, Khabib Nurmagomedov is an orthodox fighter who creates chaos inside the octagon to find the opportunity to land a takedown. Once he secures the takedown, 'The Eagle' uses his superior ground game to punish his opponents until they break.
Islam Makhachev, on the other hand, takes a more methodical approach to fighting, claims Dariush. According to him, Makhachev always maintains his range and looks to get comfortable on the feet before shooting for takedowns.
"Well, Khabib is orthodox, obviously, and Khabib creates chaos and in that chaos, he finds the takedown and once he finds the takedown, he puts a lot of pressure with his ground and pound and if you look at Islam, he is a little bit more methodical. Little bit more patient. He finds his distance with the striking and the better his distance is set up, the more he starts to engage in the grappling but he always makes sure he finds his range first, so little bit different with the two but even though Khabib fought in the chaos, he fought very safe. He knew how to create chaos but stay out of danger," Dariush told RT Sport.
Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev are likely to fight each other next
Beneil Dariush has revealed that he is likely to fight Islam Makhachev in a potential number one contender's fight sometime in 2022. He shared that the UFC brass has been planning to book the fight for a while now and plans to schedule the bout for February of next year.
With Justin Gaethje all but sure to fight for the title against the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier, it makes sense for the promotion to book a fight between the next two highest ranked contenders.
Both Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev are seemingly one win away from landing a title shot. They also have a similarly grappling heavy style of combat inside the cage and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top when these two collide inside the octagon.
