Why UFC 311 Will Be the PPV Islam Makhachev Finally Passes Khabib’s Legacy
At UFC 311, Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event against Arman Tsarukyan. He will be accompanied to the ring by his good friend Khabib Nurmagomedov, who will also be accompanying Umar Nurmagomedov to the Octagon during the co-main event. It will be the first time in the Team Khabib camp that two fighters will be competing for a UFC title on the same night, and if they both win their fights, it will be the first time the camp will have two active UFC Champions. However, that’s not the history that could be made on this PPV.
Many fans have already stated that Islam Makhachev has surpassed Khabib Nurmagomedov in legacy, though it is still a minority of the UFC audience. That’s because Khabib is seen as the most vicious and dominant grappler the UFC has ever seen, as his wrestling game was unstoppable. He also tied the record for most UFC Lightweight Championship defenses with three before his retirement in 2020, and did so by defeating MMA icons Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor, all via submission. He is generally believed to be the greatest lightweight of all time, but one thing that many fans call Khabib out on is his longevity. His critics make the point that he doesn’t have enough all-time wins and retired too early to be considered one of the greatest ever.
As for Islam Makhachev, he has slowly climbed up the ranks in the all-time conversation, and arguably already has a better lightweight resume than his coach. His grappling, although not as dominant, is the biggest skill he has and has resulted in multiple submissions. He does, however, have a much better standup game than Khabib, which he has used to his advantage on multiple occasions, resulting in TKOS and KOs in his career. He has defeated and finished all-time greats Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira, a resume that many consider to be better than Khabib’s. He may completely end the conversation at UFC 311 as, like Khabib Nurmagomedov when he retired, Islam has also reached three title defenses as of this point. That means that if he defeats Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311, he will officially pass Khabib’s lightweight title defenses.
That’s not the only fighter he’ll pass, though, since if he successfully defends his title against Tsarukyan, Islam Makhachev will have the most title defenses in UFC lightweight history. A win at UFC 311 will allow him to surpass Benson Henderson, BJ Penn, and Khabib Nurmagomedov in title defenses with four. None of those three men have won more than one UFC Lightweight Championship as well, which means Islam would pass the record for most overall title wins in the division. Given that many already believe that he has a better resume than Khabib and that a victory will give him the most UFC Lightweight Championship wins ever, it wouldn’t be a hot take anymore to say that at UFC 311, Islam will pass Khabib in all-time status.
