‘Now, I deliver two’: Double champion Makhachev asserts dominance at UFC 322

NEW YORK — As UFC president Dana White stood within the octagon beneath the Madison Square Garden lights, holding a championship belt in every hand as Bruce Buffer learn out the ultimate of three 50-45’s on the scorecard, Khabib Nurmagomedov ran over and requested if he may put these gold straps on one in all his oldest friends-turned-pupils, Islam Makhachev. 

Sure, White stated. What may go fallacious?

“He goes over there and raps him over the head with both belts,” White stated. “I believe (Makhachev) took extra harm in getting his belts than he did throughout the combat.

“I used to be saying to Khabib, I’ve been within the combat enterprise since I used to be 20 years previous. All I ever hear is, ‘This man’s going to be a world champion, this man goes to do that, this man’s going to do this.’ Everybody says the identical factor, and nearly no person ever does or makes it. 

“But his father said, ‘Khabib will go in and dominate and he’ll have a run. And when he’s done, Islam will come in behind him and do the same.’ And, holy s—. It played out exactly the way his father said, which is pretty amazing.”

It was Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, who first taught him and his pal Islam find out how to wrestle once they have been six years previous. He continued to coach them as they every went on near-perfect runs from the Russian regional scene to the UFC — Nurmagomedov and Makhachev are a mixed 57-1 of their careers — till his dying in 2020. That’s when Nurmagomedov retired and took his father’s place, teaching Makhachev to a UFC light-weight title and, Saturday night time, a welterweight one, too.

In a quintessential Makhachev victory, the 34-year-old leaned into his masterful wrestling to disarm one of many sport’s greatest boxers, shutting out Jack Della Madallena to tear away a belt he held for less than 189 days. Makhachev ran up practically 20 minutes of management time and, within the course of, tied Anderson Silva’s UFC report with a sixteenth consecutive victory. 

On a wild night time of breath-taking, highlight-reel finishes, Makhachev reminded the MMA world that he can take breath away in addition to anybody within the sport. He simply does it with suffocating grappling and triangle chokes.

“It’s the biggest day of my life. I’m so happy to be double UFC champion in Madison Square Garden. It’s what I said all fight week — this is my dream today,” stated Makhachev, who turned the eleventh fighter in UFC historical past to win titles in a number of divisions. “I feel better (at welterweight). I feel like I’ve never felt before, you know? I feel more power, more confident when I strike, when I move. I feel much better today. I feel I can control anyone on the ground. I never felt like that.” 

Moving up a weight class is not any joke. Weili Zhang, a massively completed fighter who simply cleared the strawweight division of significant competitors, confirmed the group what it typically appears like over 25 hellish minutes main into the principle occasion. Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko managed her from begin to end, combating from her distance, on her phrases, at her tempo. Size issues.

But it issues differently while you’re a generational grappler. The scariest factor about Makhachev shifting from light-weight to welterweight was what an additional 15 kilos — or, maybe extra precisely, 15 fewer kilos to chop — would imply for his already suffocating high management. And we discovered shortly after the introductions, as Makhachev shot for Della Maddalena’s legs solely a minute in and stored him pinned beneath him for the remainder of the primary spherical. 

It’s value remembering Della Maddalena’s final two fights have been in opposition to wrestling-based opponents, too. Gilbert Burns is a 3rd diploma Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a number of time world champion. Belal Muhammad skilled underneath Louis Taylor, an NCAA Division I wrestler who gained PFL’s middleweight match in 2018.  

And in grappling exchanges with these two, Della Maddalena held his personal. He wriggled free from Burns’ grasp repeatedly of their three-rounder, and he progressively discouraged Muhammad from even making an attempt takedowns over their 5 rounds by treating the mat as lava, scrambling to his toes at any time when his again touched it earlier than Muhammad may apply high strain.

But Makhachev’s a distinct animal when it comes to grasp, power and sheer relentlessness. A takedown shouldn’t be merely a takedown. It’s a series of takedowns, one flowing into the following as his opponent tries to scamper away, shifting from one limb to the following whereas driving his head and shoulders ahead till he will get the combat the place he needs it.

And so, the place Della Maddalena was in a position to create scrambles and explode out of takedown makes an attempt in opposition to Burns and Muhammad, Makhachev smothered him the moment they hit the mat and left little room to breathe. You may see the pressure on Della Maddalena’s face when he created a scramble within the first just for Makhachev to experience it by way of with a bodylock till he ended up again on high along with his shoulder digging into the Aussie’s chin.

“When I took him down the first time, I felt it was going to be a long night and I could do whatever I want on the ground,” Makhachev stated. “We watched his old fights. He has a couple of sweeps, a couple of things on the ground. But I blocked him there. And that’s why I made this easy.”

It was an analogous chorus within the second spherical, as the 2 went to the ground from a clinch inside a minute and Makhachev spent the remainder of the spherical in half guard, disrupting Della Maddalena’s respiration with a forearm on the throat or hand over the mouth, intermittently touchdown elbows to the face and punches to the facet of the top.

Conspicuously lacking from Della Maddalena’s recreation within the first two rounds was his typical motion and fluidity. We’ve seen him so clean — dipping, sidestepping and switching stances seamlessly. But Makhachev’s omnipresent risk of a takedown makes any ahead motion a threat. And whereas Della Maddalena discovered a greater rhythm on the toes for the primary couple minutes of the third, earlier than lengthy he was returned to the mat to spend the remainder of the spherical making an attempt to wrestle out of d’arce makes an attempt.

Makhachev gave Della Maddalena an entire 90 seconds to strike with him within the fourth, which led to a number of feinting and never a lot else, earlier than driving the combat again into his world and persevering with to place the champion in a blender. Needing a walk-off within the fifth, Della Maddalena got here out firing, which Makhachev took fast benefit of to land his fourth takedown in as many makes an attempt. And he by no means let Della Maddalena again up.

“Say what you want about Jack and the odds — the oddsmakers had him a big underdog. I didn’t. I thought that that fight was going to be much, much tougher for Islam,” White stated. “Jack’s a tough, tough kid. And, gritty. He beat Belal and Belal’s a nightmare for a lot of people. I thought it was going be a lot closer than it was. So, hats off to Islam for dominating.”

It was a landscape-shifting night time for UFC’s welterweight division, which has quickly turn into the corporate’s most compelling within the wake of Gabriel Bonfim choosing aside Randy Brown and Uros Medic steamrolling Muslim Salikhov final weekend. And the mud might solely simply be settling this upcoming Saturday when Muhammad and Ian Garry meet in Qatar. 

Beyond Makhachev on Saturday was Carlos Prates, whose straight left despatched Leon Edwards crashing to the canvas as if he’d been hit by a cannon ball, persevering with to give you show-stopping knockouts. Then there was Michael Morales, who appeared like he was in a distinct weight class than Sean Brady, once more displaying he has as a lot energy as anybody within the division with a devastating first-round end.

Is there a better combat to make than one between these two? Or will Shavkat Rakhmonov, set to return from a prolonged harm layoff, have one thing to say about that? Garry’s final two fights have been a loss to Rakhmonov and a win over Prates — how do you match him up if he wins on Saturday? And if Muhammad comes out on high, his solely loss in his final 14 fights could have been to Della Maddalena. How would he match into the combination?

Talk about first-world issues. You’d have a tough time making a foul combat for those who put all these names in a hat and pulled them out one after the other. Here’s only one doable match-making state of affairs going ahead:

Is Usman probably the most deserving of a primary crack at Makhachev? That’s a tough case to make. But it’s quite a bit simpler to argue that there’s a purpose Usman was within the entrance row Saturday and proven repeatedly on the printed, whereas everybody from Makhachev to White to Nurmagomedov to his supervisor, Ali Abdelaziz, who represents each fighters, have indicated he may very well be subsequent. 

Ultimately, this isn’t a meritocracy — it’s a matchmaker mannequin. And when a fighter will get to Makhachev’s ranges of feat and acclaim, it’s legacy combat time. Usman is welterweight’s second-greatest champion after Georges St-Pierre and, at 38, operating out of runway to capitalize on it. Makhachev clearly needs that identify on his resume and the UFC little doubt needs to match him up with a recognizable opponent.

Makhachev, too, solely has so many fights left. At 34, he’s nearer to the tip of his prime than the start. The remainder of his UFC run can be in regards to the firm maximizing his star energy and Makhachev maximizing his incomes potential. And the place these roads little doubt lead is an inevitable confrontation with Ilia Topuria.

But that’s a subject for one more day. For now, Makhachev says he’s ready for no matter comes his manner. Prepared to interrupt Silva’s report, ready to by no means have to chop these additional 15 kilos once more, ready to proceed proving Nurmagomedov’s father proper and residing out his goals. 

As Makhachev stepped up onto a podium for his post-fight press convention, Nurmagomedov was in the direction of the again of the room, watching highlights from the combat on his telephone. Makhachev carried these two belts his previous pal threw over his shoulders — or off the facet of his head, relying in your perspective — with him. He set them on the desk earlier than him, first light-weight then welterweight, and admired them with a uncommon grin. 

“Usually, for these I bring one belt,” Makhachev stated. “Now, I bring two.”