Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises scorecards

Islam Makhachev faced off against Thiago Moises in the main event of UFC Vegas 31 in July 2021. The fight was a good mix of striking, clinch warfare and wrestling. Eventually, the Dagestani fighter managed to take Moises' back and submit him with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round.

In the first three rounds, Islam Makhachev got the better of the exchanges, scoring 10-9 on all judges' scorecards. All three scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Makhachev ahead of the fourth frame.

Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises Moises scorecards [Image courtesy: www.ufc.com]

According to official UFC stats, Makhachev had a strike rate of 66%, landing 148 out of 194 strikes attempted. Moises, on the other hand, had a strike rate of 29%, landing just 18 of 51 attempted strikes.

In terms of significant strikes, Makhachev landed 61 out of 92 attempted strikes. Thiago Moises landed 13 out of 44 attempted significant strikes.

Both fighters landed takedowns on each other with the same success rate of 50%. Makhachev completed three out of six takedown attempts, while Moises secured one out of two.

Islam Makhachev had total control time of 8:11 minutes, while Thiago Moises had a control time of 3:24 minutes.

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Islam Makhachev claims the UFC lightweight title after submitting the submission king

Makhachev came into his fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to make a statement. Though Makhachev was the -180 favorite in the bout, many fans, fighters and analysts picked Oliveira to win.

Charles Oliveira was on an incredible run of momentum that seemed unstoppable. However, Makhachev came into the bout on a 10-fight win streak, eliciting supreme confidence in his ability to beat Oliveira.

Makhachev dominated all the exchanges on the feet, in the clinch and on the ground, eventually submitting 'Do Bronx' via arm-triangle choke in the second round.

As part of his performance, Makhachev received his first Performance of the Night bonus. This was his second bonus, having won Fight of the Night honors alongside Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Fight Night 149.

He is likely to face reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. However, an official announcement of the bout is yet to be made.