Tony Ferguson thinks the student has surpassed the master.
Despite his abbreviated UFC lightweight title reign, Khabib Nurmagomedov is still considered by many to be one of the best mixed martial artists of all time. Of if your Daniel Cormier, you’d called ‘The Eagle’ a bigger sports icon than Muhammad Ali.
But as great as Khabib was, ‘El Cucuy‘ thinks Islam Makhachev is even better.
“And I think Makhachev is a better grappler, honestly,” Ferguson said in a recent interview with Helen Yee. “I think he’s a little bit faster. I think with Khabib, he’s just a little bit more—not timid of the freestyle that Makhachev presents, but I think Makhachev, he’s not going to do so bad at 170. I think he’ll be all right.”
Though they never actually fought inside the Octagon, Ferguson and Khabib engaged in one of the UFC’s fiercest rivalries. The two were scheduled to square off no less than five times, but the fight never came to fruition for a variety of reasons.
With Khabib retired and Ferguson exiting the UFC on an eight-fight losing streak, it’s clear that we’ll never see the two settle their feud in four-ounce gloves.
Islam Makhachev getting ready to conquer another weight class
As for Islam Makhachev, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ followed in Khabib’s footsteps, capturing the lightweight championship in 2022 via a second-round submission victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. He went on to defend the title four times before vacating the 155-pound crown in a bid to challenge newly minted welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
No official date has been announced for their highly anticipated clash, but the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi in October is looking more and more likely with each passing day.
