Islam Makhachev’s Biggest Victories At Lightweight

Earlier this month, Dana White made headlines when he announced that UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev would be vacating his 155-pound title and moving up to welterweight. Fans had been clamoring to see the Dagestani clash with former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, who himself had recently vacated his title in a bid to meet Makhachev with the lightweight gold on the line. 

However, Makhachev insisted that El Matador didn’t deserve a title shot and needed to defeat a top-five ranked fighter in the division before he would be given number one contender status. Now, in somewhat hypocritical fashion, Makhachev himself has also gone up in weight and vacated his title, gunning for a shot at the newly minted 170-pound champion Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight gold. 

A Story of Vacant Titles 

With the lightweight championship now vacant, Topuria will clash with former champion Charles Oliveira, the man that Makhachev defeated for the title back in October 2022. And UFC odds providers make the Georgia-born Spaniard the favorite to get the job done. The latest online UFC odds currently have Topuria listed as the short-priced -390 betting favorite to secure the victory, with the Do Bronx a distant +295 outsider. 

Topuria was quick to point out Makhachev’s hypocrisy on social media. The Dagestani fired back, stating that he was able to go up to welterweight and compete for a second title as he had already cleared out the lightweight division. But is there any truth to that claim? Well, here are Makhachev’s greatest victories at 155 pounds, so you can make up your mind yourselves. 

Is Makhachev best in the world right now or nah? 🤔#UFC302
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— Bodog (@BodogCA) May 30, 2024

Charles Oliveira 

Makhachev’s road to the lightweight title wasn’t a smooth one. He lost his second fight in the UFC via stoppage to the unheralded Adriano Martins, and then he was forced to take the long route to the gold. The Dagestani star had to win ten straight fights before he finally got a shot at the title, beating the likes of Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker, and Bobby Green en route to the top of the rankings. 

In October 2022, Makhachev finally got his title shot and was penciled in to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. Despite being the challenger, it was the Sambo ace who was made the favorite for the contest, and he duly set about proving himself worthy of that tag. Makhachev immediately took the fight to the champion, lighting him up in the first round with some heavy strikes. 

In the second round, it was more of the same, and after just over a minute, Oliveira had been dropped. The Brazilian’s opponents in the past hadn’t followed him to the ground in fear of falling into a trap and perhaps being caught in a submission. Makhachev had no such fears, though, and he took Oliveira to the ground, sank in an arm triangle choke, and duly secured the submission victory. 

Alexander Volkanovski 

Following that victory, Makhachev immediately set about becoming the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. The man who held that spot at the time was featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and the Dagestani clamored for a fight with him – on enemy territory in Australia – rather than a ranked fighter in his own division. He got his wish. 

The two faced off at UFC 284 in Perth in February 2023, and it was clear that despite the size and reach advantage, the Aussie wasn’t afraid of his far bigger opponent. Volkanovski gave as good as he got throughout the five-round affair, landing plenty of big strikes and towering over the lightweight champion when the bell rang to end the fifth and final round. Ultimately, however, Makhachev’s grappling was deemed enough to secure a contentious decision victory and allowed him to cling on to the gold, just. 

Eight months later and the two did battle once again, with Volkanovski stepping in on short notice to replace the injured Charles Oliveira. This time around, Makhachev got a more definitive victory, winning by first-round knockout after delivering a vicious head kick. 

Dustin Poirier 

While Makhachev had back-to-back contests with Alexander the Great, the veteran Dustin Poirier was enjoying a late career renaissance. An upset knockout against up-and-coming Frenchman Benoit Saint Denis put the Diamond in a shock title shot position, and in June 2024, he finally got his opportunity. 

Unfortunately for him, he came up against a ruthless champion, Makhachev, who was unwilling to relinquish his title, regardless of how much the fans wanted to see Poirier leave Neward with the gold. The fans were certainly in the Louisiana native’s corner, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. Makhachev dominated the five-round affair, winning each round before locking in a brabo choke submission and putting the challenger to sleep. 

In the year since then, Makhachev hasn’t defended his title a single time. Now, he has relinquished his 155-pound strap rather than defending in a mouth-watering clash against Topuria. It remains to be seen whether the two will ever do battle and what division a potential clash would be in.