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Islam Makhachev will be keeping a close eye on UFC 269. The show will see a huge main event in the form of a UFC lightweight title bout between champion Charles Oliveira and challenger Dustin Poirier.
Regardless of who wins the fight between Oliveira and Poirier, it looks like Makhachev could be next in line for the victor.
The protégé of former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev is riding an incredible nine-fight winning streak. He currently looks like the most dangerous man in the lightweight division.
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So can he really overcome the winner of Oliveira vs. Poirier? The answer is almost certainly yes.
With that in mind, here are five reasons why Islam Makhachev will beat the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier.
#5. Islam Makhachev is good enough to fend off Charles Oliveira’s submission attempts and keep top position
If Charles Oliveira retains against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 and Islam Makhachev is next in line, we could be in for an all-time classic grappling war.
‘Do Bronx’ is actually the most decorated submission artist in UFC history, as he’s finished 14 opponents via tapout. He’s also no one-trick pony, as he’s used numerous different holds – including rare ones like the calf slicer – to submit his foes.
However, would his submission attacks really work against Islam Makhachev? In a lot of ways, it feels doubtful.
Oliveira has tapped out some excellent grapplers during his UFC tenure, including Jim Miller and Kevin Lee. However, it’s probably fair to say he’s never styled on a grappler with the skills of Makhachev.
More importantly, Oliveira’s submission attacks tend to come from transitions or scrambles, with ‘Do Bronx’ suddenly catching his opponents unaware.
Against a stifling wrestler like Islam Makhachev, though, that might be tricky, if not impossible. The Dagestani would certainly be capable of taking Oliveira down and once he’s in top position he’s very tricky to shake off, even for a submission expert like ‘Do Bronx’.
Overall, while fans might salivate over the potential grappling match between Makhachev and Oliveira, it’s likely that the Dagestani would hold the advantage. He would potentially punish the champion from the top as Paul Felder did in Oliveira's most recent defeat.
#4. Islam Makhachev’s wrestling could neutralise Dustin Poirier just like Khabib’s did
Charles Oliveira won the UFC lightweight title against Michael Chandler rather than Islam Makhachev's mentor and previous champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Considering this, there’s an argument that Dustin Poirier, rather than ‘Do Bronx’, is the best 155lber on the planet.
‘The Diamond’ holds recent wins over Conor McGregor, Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje. There’s every chance that his brand of pressure-boxing and punching power can get him past Oliveira at UFC 269, allowing him to claim the title.
Could Poirier defeat Islam Makhachev, though? He’d definitely be hopeful but, based on what we saw when he faced Makhachev’s training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov, it seems unlikely.
Poirier’s famed pressure-boxing was thoroughly neutralized by Khabib, who closed him down from the opening seconds of the bout, never allowing him to settle. With ‘The Diamond’ firmly on his back foot, Khabib then took him down with ease and dominated him en route to a third round submission.
Could Islam Makhachev replicate his mentor's gameplan? There’s no reason why he couldn’t.
Islam Makhachev is arguably not quite as explosive as Khabib – meaning he’d have to be very careful when closing Poirier down. However, it’s also arguable that, technically, his striking is better than Khabib’s, meaning he perhaps would not leave himself quite so open to counterpunches.
Essentially though, the fact is that based on his fight with Khabib, Poirier’s Achilles heel might be a fighter who can pressure him back, take him down and bully him from the top.
Right now, the fighter who could deliver that gameplan is definitely Islam Makhachev. Therefore, it’s easy to imagine a potential fight between the two going the same way as Poirier vs. Khabib did.
#3. Islam Makhachev has an aura of invincibility that both Oliveira and Poirier lack
Unlike his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev is not undefeated in the UFC. However, he only has one loss to his name, and that loss – a KO at the hands of Adriano Martins – came so long ago that most fans barely remember it.
Aside from that loss in October 2015, Makhachev has been perfect inside the octagon, defeating a total of ten opponents.
Not one of those ten fighters even came close to giving him real problems, with even tough outs such as Drew Dober, Dan Hooker and Gleison Tibau finding themselves absolutely dominated.
More to the point, the native of Dagestan has been looking more dominant as he’s been faced with tougher opponents. He finished his last three foes, who were arguably the trickiest tests he’s ever faced, with ease.
Essentially, Islam Makhachev has developed an aura of invincibility that’s usually reserved for unbeaten UFC champions like Israel Adesanya and Khabib.
It’s arguable that neither Charles Oliveira nor Dustin Poirier possess that same aura. Poirier’s loss to Khabib is still fresh in the memory despite taking place two years ago. Oliveira, meanwhile, has suffered eight losses in the octagon despite his current nine-fight win streak.
When it comes to momentum, it feels like Islam Makhachev is on an unstoppable path to claim UFC gold. While both Oliveira and Poirier are excellent fighters in their own right, it’s unlikely that they’ve got what it takes to crack the Dagestani’s aura of invincibility.
#2. Islam Makhachev is ruthless enough to finish Charles Oliveira if he hurts him
Charles Oliveira is undoubtedly on one of the best runs we’ve ever seen in the UFC lightweight division and one that rivals Islam Makhachev's. ‘Do Bronx’ has won his last nine fights, with just one – his victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256 – going the distance.
However, while Oliveira has definitely looked excellent during this run, he certainly hasn’t been infallible. In fact, the fight that won him the UFC lightweight title – his TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 262 – saw him come frighteningly close to defeat.
Chandler decked the Brazilian in the early part of the first round and, after failing to lock down a guillotine choke, he largely dominated ‘Do Bronx’ from the top with some heavy ground-and-pound.
However, ‘Iron Mike’ couldn’t finish him off, and the second round saw Oliveira stun everyone by decking him with a left hand and finishing him shortly thereafter.
The win was naturally huge for ‘Do Bronx’ but it wasn’t hard to imagine an alternative scenario that might’ve seen Chandler pound him out in the first round.
That’s a worrying thought if Oliveira beats Dustin Poirier and has to face Islam Makhachev. While Makhachev doesn’t possess the brutal punching power of Chandler on the feet, it’s almost a certainty that he’s a better top position grappler than ‘Iron Mike’. If he were to lock up a guillotine on Oliveira, the fight would probably be over.
Even if Makhachev didn’t look for a submission, he could almost certainly pound on Oliveira from the top. He definitely has the ruthless nature needed to put Oliveira away.
Essentially, Charles Oliveira is a great fighter, but he’s also a somewhat fragile one too. Islam Makhachev, meanwhile, is a fighter who is ruthless enough to finish Oliveira if he were to hurt him.
#1. Islam Makhachev is the closest thing the UFC lightweight division now has to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and nobody could beat him
Perhaps the greatest reason for believing that Islam Makhachev will beat the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier is that he’s the closest thing in the division to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Sure, Makhachev doesn’t have the exact same style as his teammate, but they definitely share some similarities. Both men put their opponents under tremendous pressure, and both men use their stellar wrestling and grappling games to dominate their foes.
While Islam Makhachev is only just reaching the top of the UFC lightweight division, as everyone is aware, Khabib got to the summit of that mountain a number of years ago.
‘The Eagle’ won the UFC lightweight title in 2018 and then dominated the best the division had to offer in Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje.
Most importantly, none of them had any kind of answer for his powerful takedowns and stifling top game. With that considered, why would they be any more successful against a fighter as similar to Khabib as Islam Makhachev is?
Essentially, there’s no reason why Islam Makhachev can’t simply pick up where Khabib left off, and use a similar style to thoroughly dominate the rest of the UFC lightweight division – starting with the winner of the upcoming Oliveira vs. Poirier fight.
