Islam Makhachev was in the face of a huge debate after he won the fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. Dana White declared Jon Jones the best P4P fighter in the world and dismissed any other winner including Makhachev. But Khabib Nurmagomedov, the retiring champion with a 29-0 streak, had another verdict.

Khabib, who coached his protege for free, subtly talked about the lightweight champion through his Instagram. The 35-year-old shared an Instagram story that showed what he thought about the P4P category and who he thought was the best.

Khabib declares Islam Makahchev and Usman Nurmagomedov the best

In a recent Instagram story, the retired champion posted a picture of his protégé with another pupil who is also coming up the charts. Not only did the post have the picture, but a second clip also showed that moments after Islam Makhachev won the fight against Dustin Poirier, Usman Nurmagomedov came running to his teammate and hugged him tight until they both fell onto the mat.

The caption read, “Islam Makhachev & Usman Nurmagomedov the leading lightweights on the planet and champions of two of the world’s top MMA leagues, shared an exhilarating moment of triumph. This is what we call heritage.”

So Khabib gave his verdict on who he thinks is the best pound-for-pound fighter. According to him, it’s not Jon Jones. Even Joe Rogan timed into the same discussion and declared that Islam Makhachev had surpassed his mentor.

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Joe Rogan claimed that Islam Makhachev became better than his teacher

Islam Makhachev became the color commentator’s chosen one after winning against ‘The Diamond’. The fact that he could strike clean and crisp against an accomplished fighter like Poirier made the 56-year-old believe that the reigning lightweight champion was better than his coach.

“Finishing off with that D’arce choke is gorgeous. Just a beautiful technique. He’s so complete. He’s complete everywhere,” Joe Rogan said during the live broadcast of UFC 302. He also compared ‘The Eagle’ and his student saying that the former had excellent round work, but his protege was a better striker and had better grappling skills.

Joe Rogan’s expectations from Makhachev have increased and he believes that the fighter will get better with time. Meanwhile, Dana White has confirmed his opinion that Jones is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world because he has not lost a single fight. Who do you agree with, the UFC CEO or the color commentator?