5 fighters from Dagestan who could follow in Khabib Nurmagomedov's footsteps and claim UFC gold

#2. Zabit Magomedsharipov – UFC featherweight contender

If Zabit Magomedsharipov returns in the same form that he left off with, he could definitely capture featherweight gold

Had a list like this been compiled at the end of 2019, featherweight prospect Zabit Magomedsharipov likely would’ve been at the very top.

That year ended with Zabit outpointing Calvin Kattar in his first UFC headline bout, putting a cap on a lengthy 14-fight win streak, with six of those wins coming in the octagon.

The plan appeared to be to match him with Yair Rodriguez in a No.1 contender’s bout in early 2020. When that clash fell through, Zabit’s entire UFC career dropped off a cliff as he was forced onto the shelf with some undisclosed health issues.

The Dagestani fighter has not fought since but, according to reports, it’s likely that he’ll be ready to return to action in the near future, probably at some point in 2022.

So if he returns in the same form that he was showing when he last fought, is Zabit capable of capturing the featherweight title? Absolutely.

The division obviously has some tough fighters, including champion Alexander Volkanovski and contenders like Max Holloway and Brian Ortega, but Zabit’s brand of slick wrestling, unorthodox striking and nasty submissions makes him a threat to any 145lber.

It won’t be easy for him, but there’s a definite chance that he could follow in the footsteps of his countryman Khabib and claim gold in the octagon.

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#1. Islam Makhachev – UFC lightweight contender

Could Islam Makhachev be the UFC's next lightweight champion?

Naturally, the Dagestani fighter most likely to follow in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s footsteps and claim gold in the octagon is Islam Makhachev. If he achieves this, it’ll almost be poetic, as he’ll be hoping to capture the UFC lightweight title that Khabib never lost.

However, despite what many fans believe, Makhachev is definitely not the same fighter his mentor was. Both men possess incredible wrestling skills and seemingly have the ability to take any opponent down. However, Khabib’s game, for the most part, was based around his ground strikes.

While Makhachev does have TKO victories on his ledger – most recently stopping Bobby Green with punches from the mount – he’s more of a dangerous submission artist than Khabib was, with four of the wins in his current ten-fight streak coming via tapout.

This means that he’s more of a threat to current champ Charles Oliveira – who is the most successful submission artist in UFC history – and would be favored against any other 155lber on the roster.

Essentially, it seems like a matter of when, not if Makhachev claims lightweight gold in the octagon – making him the most likely Dagestani champion in the promotion.