Islam Makhachev opens up about his thought process during face-off: "I looked into your eyes and understood"

Islam Makhachev recently came clean about his thought process while facing off with his rivals before his fights. The current UFC lightweight champ detailed about focusing on his rival eyes.

Makhachev had an intense face-off with Dustin Poirier for their UFC 302 encounter. The UFC lightweight champion engaged in a light-hearted war of words with Poirier. But he lost his cool after 'The Diamond' abused him verbally amidst the chit-chat.

Makhachev resorted to his ground game to win the fight as he submitted Poirier in the final round of their encounter. But he also outnumbered 'Diamond' in terms of significant strikes landed in the fight.

A recent X update from @ChampRDS showcased Makhachev in a conversation with a person who questioned whether he intends to "smash" his rivals during the face-offs. The Russian builds up some suspense to reveal that he focuses on the color of his opponent's eyes and nothing else. He said:

"I can only see the color of the eyes... I looked into your eyes and understood that you have brown eyes."

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Islam Makhachev's manager on his return

Islam Makhachev's victory over Dustin Poirier marked his third successful title defense. The encounter headlined the UFC 302, and it has been around six months since Makhachev last took to the octagon.

However, his manager recently gave out a potential date for his return. In a recent interview with Ushatayka, Makhachev's manager also mentioned who his next rival might be. He said:

"The contract [for Makhachev's next fight] has not been signed yet. For now, we’re preparing for January 18. We were given the date, and we accepted it. We assume it will be Tsarukyan."