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Islam Makhachev has dominated the lightweight division in the UFC for nearly a decade. He won the title by defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 and has since defended it four times. A prominent lightweight competitor has commented on the reigning lightweight champion's fighting style and revealed the keys to defeating Makhachev in a showdown.
Makhachev is coming off a dominant first-round submission victory over Renato Moicano at UFC 311. With his win, Makhachev broke the record for most consecutive title defenses in the lightweight division.
The 33-year-old Dagestani fighter relies heavily on wrestling in his fights. He is currently cruising on an impressive 15-fight winning streak.
Speaking to Inside Fighting's Mike Owens, Terrance McKinney revealed the keys to defeating Makhachev. He said:
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"You gotta be able to nullify the wrestling and actually have good boxing, you know what I mean, which Ilia has. If you can get up easy and or like you know what I mean, and then be able to put hands on him then you're cooked. You can't just have decent stand-up you're gonna heve to be able to touch him up with the hands."
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Check out Terrance McKinney's comments on Islam Makhachev below (10:26):
Ilia Topuria praises Islam Makhachev while reasserting his belief in beating him in a potential fight
Islam Makhachev signed off 2024 on a high by finishing Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to win the featherweight title. He followed it up with another dominant performance against Max Holloway by beating him via a third-round KO at UFC 308.
Recently, Topuria expressed his desire to move up to the lightweight division and start his campaign for another championship.
'El Matador' has called out Islam Makhachev on multiple occasions for a title showdown. In a recent conversation with Full Send Podcast, the reigning UFC featherweight champion praised Makhachev while reaffirming a strong belief in himself as a contender who can beat the Dagestani in a potential fight. He said:
"I really believe that I can beat the current champion Islam. He's a great champion, you can't be a world champion by chance, you've to do things great, he's a beast. But, I like the competition and I don't like to be a bully and fight with people that I know 100% that I'm gonna whopp his a**. I like to fight with people that the fans think it's gonna be very competitve."
Check out Ilia Topuria's views on facing Islam Makhachev below (17:12):
