5 reasons why Islam Makhachev should not be compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov

#2. Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov have very different personalities

Khabib Nurmagomedov was always underrated when it came to his trash talk

Another area in which Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov differ greatly is in their personalities. Despite looking similar and hailing from the same area, their outlook on things seems to be very different.

For years, MMA fighters hailing from Russia were stereotypically believed to be stoic, silent killers who let their fighting skills do the talking for them. This reputation was probably built on the back of fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko, Igor Vovchanchyn and Oleg Taktarov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, was always different. While ‘The Eagle’ was not a trash talk extraordinaire like Conor McGregor or Chael Sonnen, he always demonstrated huge self-confidence and wasn’t afraid to throw barbs at his opponents, often subtly.

Fans will remember his infamous “if sambo was easy, it’d be called jiu-jitsu” t-shirt prior to his 2012 fight with Thiago Tavares. However, Khabib also became known for talking trash to his opponents during his fights. Most notably, he verbally battered Michael Johnson at UFC 205 just as badly as he was physically beating him.

With this considered, it’s easy to understand how Khabib Nurmagomedov became such a huge star for the UFC. While he wasn’t the most vocal fighter, he definitely had plenty of charisma in his own right.

Islam Makhachev, on the other hand, is right out of the Fedor school of seriousness. The lightweight star is completely stoic, rarely gives lengthy interviews and is almost never heard talking trash about his opponents.

In fact, his opponent this weekend, Dan Hooker, has outright spoken about his lack of trash talk, stating that it’s clear that Islam Makhachev prefers to let his manager Ali Abdelaziz do his talking for him.

Essentially, it simply shows that Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are very different people outside the octagon, rendering comparisons between them a little futile. It also suggests that unfortunately for the UFC, the 31-year-old is unlikely to replicate the star status of the former 155-pound king.

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#1. The “new” tag rarely works for any fighter in the UFC

Labelling Islam Makhachev as the "new Khabib" could be more of a curse than a blessing

Islam Makhachev is constantly labeled as the “new Khabib Nurmagomedov.” Perhaps the biggest reason for avoiding comparisons between the two is that the “new” tag rarely works for fighters in the UFC.

Simply put, every UFC fighter, even if they look, sound or fight in a similar manner to another, is unique in their own right. Comparing a newer fighter to a more successful older one usually goes badly.

Take Rory MacDonald, for instance. ‘The Red King’ debuted in the UFC in 2010 at the age of just 20 and rapidly earned comparisons to his illustrious teammate, then-UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre.

Despite a different fighting style, MacDonald simply couldn’t shake off the tag of the “new GSP.” While he had some success, the pressure appeared to get to him at times and he often lost his most important fights, failing to repeat the success of his teammate.

The same could easily be said for Philippe Nover and Uriah Hall, who were labeled the “new Anderson Silva” after viral knockouts but completely failed to live up to that tag. The same goes for Goran Reljic, who was called the “middleweight Mirko Cro Cop” only to flame out in the UFC.

Essentially, to label Islam Makhachev the “new Khabib” is almost the equivalent of putting a curse on him, judging by previous examples of such tags.

He’d be far better off if UFC fans would simply look at him as the first Islam Makhachev and stop these comparisons altogether, before they become too difficult for him to ever live up to.