“Will Makhachev’s Potential Lead Him to be the New McGregor in the UFC? – RBC Sport”

UFC lightweight champion Makhachev intends to hold a title fight in the welterweight division with Edwards and become the owner of two belts. Who else became the double champion of the promotion, and who stopped a step away from the titles – in the material “RBC Sport”

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Russian UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev announced his readiness to hold the next fight against the title holder in the welterweight division (up to 77.1 kg) Leon Edwards.

In total, 31-year-old Makhachev has 24 victories in mixed martial arts with one defeat. He has won 12 of his last fights.

In his last fight, the Russian defeated Australian Alexander Volkanovski by unanimous decision in the main fight of the UFC 284 tournament, which took place in Perth.

It was the first defense of the UFC lightweight title, which he won last October with a win over Brazil’s Charles Oliveira.

Who does Makhachev want to fight?

On account of 31-year-old Edwards – 21 wins and three losses, another fight was declared invalid. He won the title last year when he defeated Kamara Usman, breaking his nine-year unbeaten streak.

On the night of March 19, the Briton again defeated Usman in London at UFC 286 by decision and defended his champion title.

Edwards made his first title defense. The fighters met one more time in December 2015: Usman then won by unanimous decision.

Dual UFC Champions

Conor McGregor

In 2015, Irish fighter Conor McGregor defeated Chad Mendes by knockout in the second round at UFC 189 to become the promotion’s interim featherweight champion.

Six months later, the Irishman knocked out the ex-champion of the Brazilian organization Jose Aldo at the UFC 194 tournament in the 13th second. Then McGregor secured the champion title.

Having won the title fight, the Irishman moved up to a heavier category. In 2016, the fight at UFC 205 again ended with a knockout of McGregor in the second round; his opponent was the American Eddie Alvarez.

Thus, the Irish fighter won a lightweight title fight and became a double UFC champion for the first time in the history of the promotion.

Daniel Cormier

In 2015, at UFC 206, American fighter Daniel Cormier defeated his compatriot Anthony Johnson by example to win the vacant light heavyweight title of the organization.

After that, he defended the title several times, winning a rematch with Johnson, as well as defeating the Swede Alexander Gustafsson and the Swiss Volkan Özdemir.

In 2018, Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic in a heavyweight title fight to become the second double UFC champion in history.

Henry Cejudo

In 2018, American fighter Henry Cejudo defeated American Demetrius Johnson by split decision in a title fight at UFC 227.

Having won the flyweight championship belt and defending it twice, Cejudo met with the Brazilian Marlon Morais at UFC 283. Having knocked out his opponent, the American became the champion of the promotion in the lightest weight category.

Amanda Nunes

Brazilian Amanda Nunes was the third fighter in the UFC and the only woman to date to achieve double champion status.

In 2016, she won the bantamweight championship after defeating American Meisha Tate at UFC 200.

After a long winning streak in 2018, Nunes won the title fight in the featherweight division against compatriot Christiana Justina.

Who was one step away from a double championship

Alexander Volkanovski

In May 2019, Alexander Volkanovski defeated former Brazilian champion Jose Aldo by unanimous decision at UFC 237, thanks to which he rose to the first line of the featherweight ranking. And in December 2019, as part of the UFC 245 tournament, he won a title fight with American Max Holloway and became the new UFC featherweight champion. Since then, the Australian has held the championship of the organization.

On February 12 of this year, Volkanovski fought lightweight champion Makhachev in the main event of UFC 284, which took place in Perth, but lost by unanimous decision.

The fighter suffered the second defeat in his career and the first in the UFC. Prior to that, he lost to Corey Nelson in May 2013 in a duel in the Australian AFC promotion. In total, the 34-year-old Volkanovski has 25 wins and two losses in MMA.

TJ Dillashaw

Before dropping down to another division, TJ Dillashaw became the bantamweight champion twice, defeating first the Brazilian Renan Baran and then the American Cody Garbrandt.

Deciding to compete for the organization’s vacant featherweight belt in 2019, TJ was knocked out by compatriot Henry Cejudo in the first round at UFC 143. At the time, many speculated that the reason for the defeat lay in a strong weight reduction.

Israel Adesanya

New Zealander Israel Adesanya, after winning the middleweight championship belt, was confidently moving towards a title fight in the light heavyweight category. But he could not defeat the Polish fighter Jan Blachowicz at the UFC 259 tournament. Their meeting ended with a unanimous decision of the judges.

Expert opinion

Andrey Koreshkov, former Bellator welterweight champion

“I think that if this fight suddenly takes place, then it will not be the best fight of Makhachev, he will have quite a few chances. It makes no sense to move to another weight category, in my opinion. Let him perform in his. In a higher category, he will have a smaller advantage in weight and physicality over his opponent, ”said Koreshkov.

Sergey Kharitonov, ex-Bellator fighter

“I haven’t seen Edwards fight, but he is a champion and it speaks for itself. Makhachev can try to move to another weight category if it costs good money. It’s too early to talk about the chances, the fight is still very far away. This challenge can be safely called a claim and a huge chance for Makhachev to become the best fighter in UFC history, ”Kharitonov said.

Kirill Sidelnikov, fighter of Fedor Emelianenko’s team

“If Makhachev feels his strength, sees the prospect, then I think it’s worth trying to move to another weight category. For him, it will be more interesting, there will be an opportunity to compete here and there. If he becomes the champion of two categories, then it will definitely be cool, ”said Sidelnikov.

Vadim Finkelstein, President of the international company M-1 Global

“If Makhachev challenged, then he is confident in his abilities. I think that Edwards is absolutely tough on Islam. I see no reason to move Makhachev to another weight category. For what? This question in itself is very complex, it all depends on his well-being. We can say with confidence that Makhachev is already one of the best, he is already on the threshold of greatness. Makhachev should definitely get on the list of fame, especially if he defeats Edwards, ”said Finkelstein.