Islam Makhachev has to completely overhaul his game plan to face Renato Moicano as Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of his clash at the very last moment at UFC 311. Moicano stepped in to fill the gap for which he was adequately compensated. But was the Brazilian ready to take on the ferocity of Makhachev? Certainly not, as he succumbed to the Dagestani’s D’arce choke and was defeated in the very first round. After the victory, the lightweight champ asserted that he owned the Octagon, but backstage, he had a simple wish for Khabib Nurmagomedov and it appears that even that simple plea was disregarded by the former champ.

While walking out of the Octagon and heading backstage, Islam Makhachev had just one thing to say about his first-round victory: a plea to Khabib Nurmagomedov to ease up on the intensity of their training sessions, “Everyone (tell) Khabib, we don’t have to train so hard (for) three months for three minutes (of fight). One month is enough for training.”

His plea might have been disregarded by the former lightweight champion, as Khabib Nurmagomedov called the entire Team Khabib to train. A mere joke was later made about this, and it was shared by Islam Makhachev with a simple laughing emoji. Well, the lightweight champion did break multiple records at UFC 311. Islam Makhachev has defended his lightweight belt more times than anyone else in the division and also holds the record for the longest win streak in lightweight history.

So, does Islam Makhachev deserve a break? Well, of course, he does, however, the defeat of Umar Nurmagomedov at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili has forced Khabib Nurmagomedov to increase the intensity of the training much more than one can anticipate. Regardless, the entire Team Khabib is on alert right now as defeat will not be tolerated for them now.

Regardless, Islam Makhachev is currently in a position where he appears unstoppable and unbeatable. However, who has what it takes to ultimately dethrone the pound-for-pound king? Beneil Darisuh might have the answer to it.

Beneil Dariush names the fighter who could dethrone Islam Makhachev

After the UFC 311 victory, Islam Makhachev has nearly wiped out the entire lightweight division. However, he was challenged by both Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan for a clash but according to Beneil Dariush, Islam Makhachev might get past these fighters. But he will have a hard time stepping inside the Octagon against former featherweight champion, Max Holloway according to ‘Benny’.

While having a conversation with the media, Dariush emphasized that Max Holloway might be a bit closer to stand against Makhachev due to his fighting style, “You know who’d be interesting? Max Holloway. I think Max Holloway could be an interesting fight for Makhachev. So we’ll see… Because he’s hard to hold, he has excellent cardio, and he throws a lot of volume, and I think these are things that could be difficult for Makhachev.”

After defeating Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway has been a force to be reckoned with in the lightweight division. However, his defeat against Ilia Topuria has raised doubts about his abilities as he approaches the final stages of his career.