Jordan Burroughs believes Islam Makhachev is sleeping on him, and he’s got a pretty good reason why. The Olympic gold medal wrestler responded to Makhachev’s earlier comments about his wrestling, arguing that the UFC welterweight champion may be viewing the contest through an MMA lens rather than a freestyle wrestling one.

And after watching the Dagestani’s UFC 330 fight against Ian Machado Garry, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist believes he has seen exactly where Islam Makhachev’s confidence could come back to bite him.

“From his perspective, it’s only a double (leg) because he’s probably got a great sprawl and he’s a solid wrestler,” Burroughs told Ariel Helwani. “But I also watched him. I was at UFC 330.

“I watched him wrestle Machado Garry or fight Machado Garry, and I watched Machado sit corner on a couple of the high crotch and single-leg attempts that he had, and Garry is not a great wrestler, and he was sitting corner and defending and countering some of those positions. I’m like, if Islam gets on my leg that way, I’m going to send him for a ride.”

This response was in reference to the welterweight champion’s past comments. In August 2024, Islam Makhachev had claimed back that Burroughs depends largely on his double-leg takedown and that he would be capable of defending it. The Dagestani has also established himself as one of MMA’s top wrestlers, having won two UFC titles with his wrestling.

However, Jordan Burroughs, who is coming off a dominant win over UFC welterweight Sean Brady at RAF 12 this past Saturday, doesn’t believe success in MMA automatically translates to success against him in freestyle wrestling format.

“You know, wrestling and MMA wrestling, they’re completely different,” he added. “They’re totally different. I respect the game. This is why I’m not fighting. Listen, I’m not fighting these guys.

“I’m going to be the first to say that I’d wrestle Islam—wouldn’t want to fight him, right? I’d wrestle (Khamzat) Chimaev—wouldn’t want to fight him. Wrestle (Michael) Chandler, Arman (Tsarukyan)—wouldn’t want to fight him.”

The six-time world champion made it clear that he has a lot of respect for the MMA fighters he named, but he believes RAF provides him an advantage because the competition takes place in his area of specialty.

“So I have a ton of respect for their craft and their game,” he continued. “But this is Real American Freestyle. The RAF—and the F stands for freestyle, not for fighting, right?

“And so they have to step into my domain, where I’m excellent in the game that I’ve mastered, which gives me a heavy advantage. So I’d love to see any guys, any of these guys, in a wrestling singlet.”

The 38-year-old made his return to wrestling last weekend defeating Brady. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist hadn’t competed since 2024, making his return all the more impressive given the caliber of the opponent standing across from him.

Islam Makhachev, meanwhile, is coming off a UFC 330 victory over ‘The Future’ and is expected to stay focused on his title run. That makes an immediate wrestling clash doubtful, but Jordan Burroughs has already identified several other UFC names he would like to test himself against as he waits for Makhachev.

Jordan Burroughs adds Arman Tsarukyan to his growing RAF wishlist

Having signed with RAF, Jordan Burroughs’ incredible win last Saturday has already offered him plenty of potential opponents, with Arman Tsarukyan near the top of the list. The Armenian lightweight has established himself as one of the top wrestlers in the RAF with a 7–1 record, making him an attractive opponent for the 38-year-old.

So, after naming Islam Makhachev as his first pick, he did not shy away from confessing that he believes the fight against ‘Ahalkalakets’ would also have enough name value to become a major RAF attraction.

“Number two for me is Arman Tsarukyan, and I really want to wrestle him,” Burroughs told Ariel Helwani. “I think he’s got a great name, a great brand. He’s a really good wrestler.

“He’s someone I have tremendous respect for and someone who’s really gonna sell the event, so I’d love the opportunity to wrestle him.”

The 6-time world champion also has his eyes on former UFC title challenger Colby Covington.

“Number three is Colby,” he added. “I’d love to wrestle Colby Covington. I think, again, another guy with charisma, spunk, but also championship pedigree, right?

“He’s been the number one contender for a number of years in the welterweight division in the UFC. He’s someone I’d like to wrestle.”

With Islam Makhachev at the top of his list and Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington on his radar, Jordan Burroughs appears to have several UFC stars lined up for his RAF campaign, and seeing how active Tsarukyan has been and ‘Chaos’ no longer part of the UFC, we may actually get to see a clash with the number 2 or number 3 pick someday soon.