2025’s first PPV delivered big time and with it, the MMA world has once again started buzzing. And Islam Makhachev seems to be the focal point of discussion. Makhachev, of course, wiped the floor with Renato Moicano in their UFC 311 clash earlier tonight and registered a record-breaking fourth title defense. With this performance, UFC commentator Joe Rogan thinks that the Dagestani has surpassed his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The first reason Rogan feels this is that Makhachev took on Moicano at a day’s notice, which is always tricky for the champion, as former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold found out the hard way against Michael Bisping in their unforgettable UFC 199 clash. But the fact that Makhachev still managed to submit the Brazilian in the very first round impressed Rogan.

“I mean, the kind of pressure that’s on a champion to come in and take a fight against an unheralded challenger, a guy who’s not supposed to win, a guy who’s very dangerous and has nothing to lose. Moicano was playing with house money,” Rogan said on the ESPN post-fight show.

The second and more important reason Rogan feels Makhachev trumps Khabib is their skills in the Octagon. ‘The Eagle’ may have been the most dominant fighter the sport has ever seen, but he was a bit one-sided, relying almost entirely on his grappling abilities to win fights.

On the other hand, Makhachev, along with his elite wrestling skills, has also developed a pretty effective striking game, which Rogan feels is world-class. In short, the UFC commentator feels that the reigning champ has a more well-rounded and complete game than the retired Dagestani legend.

When Jon Anik suggested that Makhachev has surpassed his legendary teammate, Rogan agreed and stated, “I think you’re right [that Makhachev has surpassed Khabib Nurmagomedov]. When you look at his striking, that’s the thing that separates him. I mean, Khabib was just an unbelievable ground-and-pound machine and sufficient, but what Islam brings to the table is elite striking as well. I mean, his striking is as good as anybody in the sport,” he added.

But Rogan wasn’t the only one singing paeans to Makhachev after UFC 311. Even Dana White betrayed his beloved Jon Jones after Makhachev’s victory.

Dana White concedes Islam Makhachev is the #1 P4P fighter

Everyone knows Dana White thinks Jon Jones should be the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the world. Or at least he used to think that before UFC 311. The UFC CEO had once even called the media members responsible for the P4P rankings “stupid” for having Jones #3 on the P4P list.

But after Makhachev’s UFC 311 victory he conceded, albeit somewhat reluctantly, that the Dagestani indeed deserved his #1 P4P fighter ranking. “Yeah, I’ll give it to him. Are you happy? Is everybody happy now?” Dana White said begrudgingly at the post-UFC 311 presser when asked by a reporter if Makhachev was his P4P #1 fighter.

To be fair there shouldn’t even be a debate between who deserves to be the P4P king between Jones and Makhachev. Jones has fought twice in the last six years and is coming off a win over Ciryl ‘zero-grappling’ Gane and a 42-year-old way-past-his-prime Stipe Miocic.

On the other hand, Makhachev has been active throughout and has beaten the previous #1 P4P fighter- Alexander Volkanovki, the legendary and always dangerous Dustin Poirier, and now another top lightweight contender in Renato Moicano in dominant fashion. What do you think about Rogan’s claim that Makhachev has surpassed Khabib Nurmagomedov?