Islam Makhachev continues to prove he’s more than a grappler.
The UFC lightweight champion is a training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and is naturally a gifted wrestler, who has got most of his wins by dominating opponents on the ground.
Islam and Khabib are lifelong friendsCredit: GETTY
However, Makhachev showed he is a well-rounded fighter when he brutally knocked out Alexander Volkanovski with a head kick at UFC 294 last October.
The 32-year-old is booked to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 on June 1.
Poirier is known for his boxing skills and has recorded 15 KO wins during a 39-fight career in the sport, but Makhachev seems intent on striking with him next month.
On Wednesday, the Russian fighter’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, shared a video showing Makhachev unleashing an almighty power shot on a punch machine.
He captioned the post: “June 1 going down UFC Islam Makhachev UFC 302.”
Makhachev got a whopping score of 973, which was six points shy of the machine’s record and much better than Conor McGregor did the last time he hit a punch machine.
‘Notorious’ had the arcade game fitted at one of his Dublin pubs last year.
McGregor initially got an embarrassingly low score of one despite cracking the bag with the same shot that left Jose Aldo unconscious on the canvas in 2015.
Makhachev took a massive run up to land the hardest punch possibleCredit: @AliAbdelaziz00 – x
It paid off as his punch number was higher than McGregor’sCredit: @AliAbdelaziz00 – x
McGregor went for technique over power last yearCredit: Hardhitterzuk – YouTube
Naturally, he celebrated hitting the machine so hard it broke.
“Breaking the thing twice, number one baby all smashed up yeah,” McGregor said after punching the bag, suggesting this wasn’t the first time he’d caused the machine to malfunction.
The 35-year-old had another go and registered a much more respectable score of 860, which was just shy of the machine’s 879 record but some way off Makhachev’s effort.
In fairness to McGregor, he was in the middle of a boozy night out and didn’t take a massive run-up like Makhachev did to achieve such a high score.
The two men could be testing their power on each other soon.
If McGregor is victorious in his comeback fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29, he will be in line for a shot at several belts, including Makhachev’s.
The Irishman infrequently takes swipes at the 155lb king due to his close relationship with Nurmagomedov, whom McGregor has been feuding with for years.
Now that ‘The Eagle’ has retired, the best way for McGregor to avenge his most famous loss is to book a fight with Makhachev and take his title back from Khabib’s protégé.
That’ll be easier said than done against a man who boasts a 25-1 record, hasn’t lost in almost ten years and is running through top contenders like they’re nothing.
