Islam Makhachev took the main weight – Newspaper Kommersant No. 197 (7398) of 10/24/2022

Islam Makhachev returned to Russia the UFC championship belt, the main promotion in mixed martial arts (MMA), in lightweight (up to 70 kg), ahead of schedule, already in the second round, defeating the Brazilian Charles Oliveira, who seemed to be a very dangerous opponent, at a tournament in Abu Dhabi. With this victory, he proved the correctness of the former owner of the title – the greatest Russian MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, who now trains Makhachev and who, when his friend was still at the far approaches to the top of the hierarchy, confidently predicted a fantastic future for him.

The most touching, most striking scene of the entire UFC 280 tournament was, apparently, the one that the public saw immediately after the end of the central battle. Islam Makhachev held in his hands the most valuable belt he had just won, the dream of any fighter, which for the vast majority of them, no matter how talented they are, remains an unfulfilled dream until the end of their career, and suddenly handed it to his second who entered the octagon, saying in English so that the whole world can understand: “This is for him. I know that his father made me.” The second refused the gift, hanging the award on Makhachev’s shoulder: “It’s yours.”

That was the full explanation of the whole point of what happened in Abu Dhabi this evening. The functions of Islam Makhachev’s second were performed by a man whom even a fan could not fail to recognize, paying attention to MMA only from time to time, a man whose popularity in the world is comparable to the popularity of football and Hollywood superstars. Khabib Nurmagomedov made the Russian breakthrough in the UFC in the last decade, bringing the country its first promotional title and earning recognition as the unofficial king, the benchmark for the entire harsh genre. Two years ago, shortly after the death of his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, he unexpectedly ended his sports career without losing once. But, as it turned out, having completed it, Khabib Nurmagomedov still remained in MMA, but in a different capacity. He decided that he should be next to another Dagestan fighter, whom he also trained, brought up by Nurmagomedov Sr., should help him as a coach to go through the same path that he himself had gone through.

He had no doubt that he would submit to Makhachev, it seems, for a long time. ESPN reviewers even recalled an episode from September 2019. After defeating Dustin Poirier, the penultimate opponent in his biography, Khabib Nurmagomedov, at the final press conference of the tournament participants, put his belt on the table in front of Islam Makhachev, who had just defeated Davi Ramus, and, stepping aside, said: “Future champion.”

At that moment, of course, these words were not yet perceived as the most accurate forecast. Nurmagomedov himself, in the end, was not going to go anywhere, and Makhachev was far, far from the top of the rating. He has already been seen as a gifted and purposeful fighter with a great track record, in which there is only one misfire and many beautiful victories, but in light weight his king is full of such gifted and purposeful. And there seems to be no reason to think that Makhachev clearly stands out among them.

However, subsequent events confirmed the correctness of Khabib Nurmagomedov. With each subsequent fight – against Drew Dober, Thiago Moises, Dan Hooker, Bobby Green – Makhachev more and more convinced that he was the rightful heir to the king in the sports line, the heir to the direct, maybe even advanced version of Nurmagomedov, “Khabib 2.0”: those the same magnificent wrestling skills, the same sharpness, patience, the same ability to keep a cool head in a white-hot atmosphere and choose the right one from a thousand options.

And the culmination of the ascent was the fight with Charles Oliveira – an opponent much stronger, much more extraordinary in terms of arsenal than any of those with whom the 31-year-old Islam Makhachev has so far had to deal with. This fight seemed to promise a long and exciting spectacle, similar to what was given out in another match of the evening by two representatives of the bantamweight (up to 61 kg) – Russian Petr Yan and American Sean O’Malley. In their battle, intrigue hung in the air for all three rounds. Jan, the former champion of the category, having received a cut above his right eye in the second, despite the stream of blood gushing, was not inferior to O’Malley, and completely dominated in segments, but still lost by a split decision: two judges out of three, having deserved the whistle of the stands, gave minimum advantage to the American. In the end, even the experts, who considered Makhachev the favorite, admitted that Oliveira had a bunch of his own trump cards up his sleeve – resourcefulness, cunning, decent and unusual percussion technique. Yes, at least a colossal experience of top battles, including against celebrities, just like Makhachev, who bet on wrestling techniques.

But not a single trump card worked. In the first round, Islam Makhachev twice transferred Charles Oliveira to the ground. And the second transfer resulted in a rather difficult test for the Brazilian. He desperately tried, lying on his back, to catch some counter chances, but the Russian fighter was in complete control of the situation.

Slightly rested, who tried to reset the “settings”, Oliveira seems to have managed to fix it. Now the opponents were fighting in the stance, and it seemed like the territory of a champion who can hit with both hands and feet. But everything for Charles Oliveira taxied to disaster. He went on the attack and ran into an unexpected blow with the right to meet. He hit the head of the Brazilian and knocked him to the floor, like a heavy sledgehammer. Oliveira – it was too clearly visible – was in a rather deep knockdown, and in this state it was not easy to figure out how to defend himself. Champion didn’t come up with it. Makhachev, instantly reacting to the fall of the Brazilian, a few seconds later put an end to the fight with a simple but effective choke.

And five minutes later, together with his outstanding second, he was already talking about his plans for the future. The basic plan turned out to be as simple and as obvious as the “golden” trick: fly to Australia and meet Alexander Volkanovski in his homeland.

Volkanovski is the UFC featherweight champion (up to 66 kg), that is, in the “neighbor” with the lightweight. And he is also a fighter who today is on the top line of the ranking of the best, regardless of the weight category, that is, he is actually endowed with the royal status that Khabib Nurmagomedov had. Nurmagomedov and Makhachev, of course, knew that Volkanovski was in the hall and asked him to step into the octagon. The Australian responded instantly, and by his reaction it could be judged that right there, on the floor, at least an agreement in principle on a duel of exceptional importance was reached.

Alexey Dospekhov