Islam Makhachev Says He Has Never Fought His Best Due To The Severe Weight Cut
Islam Makhachev feels like he’s never reached his full potential inside the Octagon.
After dominating the lightweight division, stacking wins in title fights against Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier, and Renato Moicano, Makhachev makes his way to welterweight, where he aims to become a two-division UFC champion.
The ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will get the chance to do exactly that on November 15 when he challenges newly minted 170-pound king Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 inside the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
It will be Makhachev’s first time competing at 170 after making a name for himself in the 155-pound division. Needless to say, he’s curious to see how his body will react to a less strenuous weight cut.
“No one who cuts, like, 10 kg. [approx. 22 pounds], more than 10 kg., they never recover 100 percent,” Makhachev told ESPN. “I still feel I recover for the fight, like, maybe 70, 60 percent, because it’s so hard to recover in 30 hours. Now, I’m very excited to see how I’m going to feel in the cage.”
Islam Makhachev’s move to welterweight is already paying dividends
If Makhachev was struggling due to the cut to 155, it certainly didn’t show in his performances over the last decade. After coming up short in his UFC debut against Adriano Martins back in October 2015, Makhachev has strung together 15 straight victories.
“Let’s see after the second round if it happens,” Makhachev added. “After the second round, after the third round, like champion’s rounds. Let’s see because I already feel it in the camp. How is my my recovery, how is my feeling after the third round? I think it’s going to be something new for me.”
Overall, Makhachev is 27-1 in his mixed martial arts career and carries an impressive 67% finish rate, including 13 submissions and five wins by way of KO/TKO.
