UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev was recently in action. Makhachev always wanted to replicate his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov’s success in the Octagon. To an extent, Islam has been quite successful in it. However, unlike Khabib, Islam is not undefeated in the UFC. He lost to Adriano Martins at UFC 192. But Islam has built up a great career since then.
Much like “The Eagle,” Islam went on a rampage and dominated his opponents to win the lightweight belt. However, Islam had his eyes on the no. 1 P4P rankings spot as well. Hence, he and Khabib called out Alexander Volkanovski, who sat on the P4P throne at the time. It seemed like a win over Alex would secure Islam the top P4P spot. But it turned out, that was not the case.
The two fought in the UFC 284 main event. It was one of the most entertaining 155 lbs title fights in UFC’s history. From great grappling exchanges to knockdowns, the fight had everything. Alex knocked down Islam only for the second time in the latter’s UFC run. But the Dagestani overcame a lot of adversity and won the fight via unanimous decision. Despite that, Islam remained in the second spot in the P4P spot.
Islam Makhachev reacts to P4P ranking snub after UFC 284
AKA coach Javier Mendez revealed after the fight that Alexander Volkanovski was the toughest challenge of Islam’s career. However, he pushed back against the notion that Makhachev lost the fight. But there are a lot of fans and pundits who have a contrary view. Most notably, UFC commentator Joe Rogan was not pleased with the decision.
The full #UFC284 main event scorecards 📝 pic.twitter.com/zCx1YmqcFb
— UFC (@ufc) February 12, 2023
Not just Rogan, but the bantamweight star Marlon Vera also shared the same opinion. So it is not controversial to say that Makhachev’s win did not go down well universally. Hence, it may be one of the reasons behind Islam not climbing to the top of the rankings. The Dagestani is also facing accusations of I.V. use for the fight.
The underwhelming performance and doping allegations are not something that can be ruled out as a reason for the lack of movement in the P4P rankings. So what does Makhachev have to say about it? The 31-year-old senses injustice.
He added, “I never expected justice and still don’t. Because we have always seen the attitude towards us on the example of our other fighters – Ankalaev, Petr Yan. The main thing is that I drove 13 thousand km, defeated their champion there. Referee raised my hand up. With my head up, confident, with a belt I came home.”
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On the issue of discrimination against the Russian fighters, Islam said, “May be. I don’t know, I don’t play their games. But I can’t say otherwise. Because if they keep (ratings), I don’t know if the ratings have changed completely or not. But if it says like that… How can I count differently? I don’t know.” (h/t via Igor Lazorin)
So does Islam Makhachev have a point? He named dropped both Petr Yan and Magomed Ankalaev during his response. At UFC 280, Petr lost to Sean O’Malley via split decision. Many felt as if the judges got it wrong and the Russian fighter won the fight. So was the case with Magomed Ankalaev, who had a draw against Jan Blachowicz, at UFC 282.
Ankalaev was furious that he was not given the nod. He even threatened to leave the promotion. Zhalgas Zhumagulov, on the other hand, ended up retiring after a string of decision losses. However, it does not prove that UFC is biased against Russian fighters. As fans may know, the company has no say over the judges. UFC does not control the rankings either.
So perhaps Islam’s comments were made from a place of frustration. What do you think of the issue? Does Islam deserve the no. 1 P4P spot? Let us know in the comments down below.