When UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov hung his gloves, the fight fans were left with nothing but a broken heart. Who could put on such a dominant performance? Who could retain the lightweight championship title taking no losses? Their questions were answered, and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree as Islam Makhachev stepped up, and now he will fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, which could very well be the biggest matchup in his entire professional career so far.

The undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov and his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov mentored Makhachev. He took ‘The Eagle’s’ mantle and has been making the ‘Dagestanis’ real proud. However, no matter how good Makhachev is, there is one stain on his otherwise neat and pristine record that differentiates him from that of his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. What is the difference? Read on to find out!

The Only MMA Fight Islam Makhachev Ever Lost

Islam Makhachev is the reigning UFC lightweight champion and has been a really dominant UFC fighter so far. He has tussled with some of the best fighters in the division but has always come out on top.

However, there is one fight that didn’t go his way – the one loss that separates him from his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov. At UFC 192, Islam Makhachev fought Adriano Martins. The fight took place back in 2015. Martin looked calm and poised throughout the fight, and Makhachev came in swinging. At 1:46, Martins countered a strike from Makhachev and dropped him to the mat. This was the only loss that Makhachev suffered in his entire professional MMA career.

As of today, Islam Makhachev’s MMA record stands at 25-1-0, which is also quite impressive. Ever since he made his UFC debut back in 2015, Makhachev has been part of 14 fight cards. Of all those fights, Makhachev has lost one. But what is most impressive is that he learned from his mistake early on and didn’t lose a single fight after that. However, Makhachev did get a scare during his first title defense.

Almost suffered a second loss? What happened with Islam Makhachev at UFC 284?

It’s almost like Makhachev refused to be defeated after Martins got the better of him. It really seemed like there was no stopping him after that. Makhachev dominated the entire lightweight division. However, a surprising fight threw him off and brought him too close to the fire – a second defeat in his career.

At UFC 284, former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski moved up a weight class. He moved up to the lightweight division, and his fight was against the champ, Islam Makhachev. The fight was really close, and there were points where Volkanovski rocked Makhachev. It even looked like Volkanovski could take the win.

However, Makhachev was declared the winner by decision (many people have questioned this decision by the judges). Last year, at UFC 294, Makhachev was booked to fight Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi. However, Oliveira had to sit it out, and the champion ran it back against Alexander Volkanovski, which was the latter’s shot at redemption. But what do you know? Taking the fight on short notice might have been a blunder for the former 145-pound kingpin as he lost to a leg kick knockout and Makhachev silenced his critics in emphatic fashion.

Will Dustin Poirier be the one to end Islam Makhachev’s reign? Or will the reigning champion do to him what his mentor did to ‘The Diamond’? Poirier has claimed that this could very well be his “last shot.” Hence, will that be enough for him to become champion or does Makhachev have something up his sleeve now that Khabib Nurmagomedov has rejoined his training camp?

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