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Islam Makhachev is widely regarded as one of the top young fighters in the sport of MMA. He boasts an impressive professional MMA record of 19 wins and 1 loss.
Makhachev’s Dagestani style of pressure-heavy grappling and suffocating striking has earned him a lot of praise. However, his lone defeat has attracted harsh criticism towards his striking skills.
Islam Makhachev’s style of striking is considered to be similar to that of his longtime friend and training partner, Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, while Nurmagomedov retired undefeated, Makhachev has a blemish on his otherwise stellar MMA record.
The only loss of Islam Makhachev’s MMA career thus far came at the hands of Adriano Martins, who knocked him out in the very first round of their fight. Makhachev faced Martins in a lightweight bout at UFC 192 on October 3rd, 2015.
The fight saw Islam Makhachev utilizing the well-known Dagestani pressure tactics right from the get-go as he tried to initiate grappling exchanges with Adriano Martins. Meanwhile, Martins, a good grappler in his own right, held his own against the takedown threat that Makhachev constantly posed.
Less than a couple of minutes into the fight, Islam Makhachev charged forward with a left hand from the southpaw position. He had previously blitzed Martins with similar strikes, only for the Brazilian to slip them and disengage.
This time, however, Adriano Martins slipped the strike. Instead of disengaging, he planted his feet and countered Islam Makhachev with a thunderous right hand from the southpaw position. The strike knocked Makhachev down, and Martins immediately pounced to deliver follow-up ground strikes.
The referee quickly intervened and waved off the fight before Martins could land significant ground strikes. Makhachev wasn’t fully out and appeared to be disappointed in the referee’s decision to wave off the fight.
The fight’s official verdict was a first-round KO win for Adriano Martins over Islam Makhachev. Fans can watch the KO sequence in the tweet embedded below (*Courtesy: Twitter user Neil Butcher):
Islam Makhachev is set to face Thiago Moises at UFC on ESPN 26
Islam Makhachev’s most recent fight was a third-round submission win over Drew Dober at UFC 259 (March 2021).
The Dagestan native is now set to headline the UFC on ESPN 26 fight card on July 17th, 2021, against up-and-coming Brazilian lightweight Thiago Moises.
Moises is coming off a unanimous decision win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane (February 2021).
Which fighter do you see emerging victorious in the Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises matchup? Sound off in the comments.
