Islam Makhachev and his manager Ali Abdelaziz lost no time hitting back at Michael Chandler after his recent comments on the Dagestani contender. 'Iron' recently claimed that it would be 'premature' to praise Makhachev too much just yet, judging by the level of competition he has faced.
Returning Chandler's jibe, Makhachev noted that the former Bellator champ has only two UFC wins, both against fighters coming off a loss. The 31-year-old Dagestani standout wrote on Twitter:
"Haha., your only two win in UFC is Hooker who came out of loss, and Tony who has 5 losses in the row now., please shut up and stay in line"
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Islam Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz, who has been a vocal supporter of the Dagestani brigade, also chimed in. Seemingly labeling Chandler a clout chaser, the Dominance MMA CEO wrote:
"Your two wins in the UFC over guys with a combined record of 1-9 in the last 10 the cloud chaser"
Chandler scored a highlight-reel KO win over Dan Hooker in his UFC debut. 'The Hangman' was coming off a decision loss to Dustin Poirier in a five-round 'Fight of the Night' war.
'Iron' then went on to drop a title shot against Charles Oliveira and a subsequent decision against Justin Gaethje in a battle for the ages to come. Chandler has since bounced back with a knockout of Tony Ferguson, who was already on a three-fight skid.
Michael Chandler on Islam Makhachev
While Islam Makhachev is one of the most game fighters on the UFC roster, the Dagestani contender hasn't faced elite competition yet. Makhachev was slated to meet Beneil Dariush before fighting for the title, but the matchup never came to fruition as 'Benny' pulled out due to an injury.
Although Makhachev has been thoroughly dominant in his ten-fight win streak, Michael Chandler claims that the upcoming lightweight title challenger hasn't really faced any notable opponents. While 'Iron' isn't discrediting Makhachev, he believes it might be 'premature' to heap praise on him just yet. Chandler told MMA Fighting:
"Nothing against Islam, you say he looks great, you say he looks unbeatable at times, but he hasn’t really fought anybody. That’s really the truth. He beat No. 14 and then he beat Dan Hooker, who was on a three or four-fight losing streak... I’m not saying that [Islam] not that good. We just can’t say that he’s that good yet. It’s premature praise.”
Watch Chandler's interview with MMA Fighting below: