Is Islam Makhachev even beatable? That’s what fans have been asking after the Dagestani icon became a two-division champion by dominating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. Moreover, the reigning 170 lbs champ also tied Anderson Silva’s record of a 16-fight win streak, which only escalated that doubt. But according to his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s favorite fighter, Georges St. Pierre, the only way to beat Makhachev is to build effective scrambling while utilizing offense on the feet.

“To beat Islam Makhachev, you would need a guy that can match his wrestling in a way that either controls his takedowns or, if he gets put down, manages to scramble back up and also fight him standing up.” ‘GSP’ told TheBreakTalk  

Well, ‘Rush’s take might sound a little generic here, but it definitely makes sense. To beat Islam Makhachev, a fighter needs to be a master at scrambling back up and then answering with vicious blows. However, doing that against the Dagestani icon is a massively tough task. Even ‘JDM,’ who’s known for his scrambling techniques, couldn’t do much at UFC 322, as the two-weight champ dominated him on the ground for 25 minutes.

In recent years, only two fighters, Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 and Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, could say they went toe to toe with the two-division champ. Still, ‘GSP’ believes there’s one fighter, his teammate and Makhachev’s former opponent, Mansour Barnaoui, who could actually pose a threat to the current 170 lbs champ.

“There’s a guy that gave him a lot of trouble; he was my training partner, his name was Mansour Barnaoui. It was in Islam’s early career. If you look at that fight, it could’ve gone the other way as well. The way Mansour fought Makhachev is the way you need to fight.” ‘GSP’ added. 

Now, Barnaoui fought Makhachev back in 2013 at M-1 Challenge 38 and lost via unanimous decision. Since then, both fighters’ paths have turned out very differently. The Frenchman definitely boasts a decent 22-7-0 career record, but it’s nowhere close to the Dagestani’s 21-1-0 record. Also, Barnaoui had a lackluster career in Bellator, where he won two fights and lost two. Moreover, GSP’s teammate also lost his last fight in the PFL.

On the other hand, Islam is yet to be defeated since his last loss in 2015 against Adriano Martins. So, it’s clearly visible that the two-division UFC champion has a massive edge over the Frenchman. Furthermore, the Dagestani juggernaut is also eyeing extending his greatness in his new division by picking a fight against Kamaru Usman, which is making the other contenders exasperated.  

Joaquin Buckley wants Islam Makhachev to retire  

Islam Makhachev wanting a legacy fight against Kamaru Usman isn’t a secret anymore. Ahead of the Paramount+ CBS era, both have shown mutual interest in a spectacular clash. Also, their manager, Ali Abdelaziz, is pushing the UFC to conduct this fight in the future. Well, it’s definitely a solid matchup, but many want to see the lightweight legend extend his legacy at 170 lbs by fighting fresh contenders. 

Fans believe bouts against Michael Morales or Ian Garry would make more sense, since ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is way out of his prime. But, contrary to that belief, Usman’s former opponent, Joaquin Buckley, thinks Makhachev should get his legacy fight against the Nigerian, and then he can retire as the greatest of all time.

“If Islam gets the fight that he wants, which is Usman, that means not only did you submit your name at lightweight over your brother Khabib, but then you also got the double-champ status, and then you also beat a GOAT in Usman. So, you just pulled the Jon Jones. What else is there to do?” Buckley told Submission Radio.

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“You’d be foolish to keep fighting, because to me, Islam is not a natural 170 fighter, and that will get exposed if he fights a person like myself or Ian Garry or (Michael) Morales,” he added.

Well, whether Makhachev gets exposed by other contenders or not, only time will tell. However, it’s definitely apparent that he has some really good fights to participate in the division if he actually decides not to walk away from the sport after his next fight.

That said, do you think Islam Makhachev would finally meet his kryptonite in the welterweight division? If so, who do you think could pose a threat to the Russian’s dominant reign? Let us know in the comments section below.