Gauging Islam Makhachev’s dominance in the UFC’s lightweight division, it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that in he ever lost, by knockout in the first round no less. If not for that lone loss in 2015, we would have been talking about Islam Makhachev over Khabib Nurmagomedov as the greatest lightweight ever, especially since he surpassed ‘The Eagle’ in terms of title defenses—the most, by the way, in the UFC at 4. The man that Makhachev lost to was Adriano Martins, and Makhachev’s former coach, the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, knew exactly the kind of danger Martins brought to the table.

Known to never hold back on his assessments of his fighters, Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s late father’s comments about his “biggest regret” have resurfaced on social media, which involved Islam Makhachev’s UFC 192 loss. His regret was allowing Makhachev to stand and strike with someone as dangerous as Adriano Martins. Not just that, he expressed regret for allowing the opinions of both Makhachev and coach Javier Mendez to override his gut feeling at that moment.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov urged Islam Makhachev not to throw caution to the wind, ie., he didn’t want him to stand and strike with Martins, and instead wrestle the Brazilian in the first round. “In my work, I think the biggest regret is that I agreed with Javier Mendez about exchanging punches in Islam’s fight,” Khabib’s father stated in a Russian interview. “Islam came up to me and said, ‘I’ll exchange punches’. I said, ‘You can give the first round a last resort, but don’t go in exchange. He is very dangerous in the first round.'”

AKA head coach Javier Mendez seemingly backed Islam Makhachev, who wanted to showcase his stand-up game at UFC 192. However, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was hesitant to give the green signal and proceeded to ask Mendez and the lightweight champion to keep written proof about his disagreement with the game plan if things went south in that fight. Guess what? Khabib’s father turned out to be right, and he made sure that Makhachev understood the consequences of going against his former coach’s advice.

“Javier said, ‘Islam is ready; let him do it’. I did not agree with them. For a week, they both tried to persuade me. My student and my partner-fellow coach,”
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov added. “I wrote it in my journal and made them both write that I didn’t agree with this plan. Islam Makhachev got dropped, fell. This is his first defeat.”

It’s a tale of what-ifs and what could have been. Had Makhachev not been adamant—as hungry young fighters generally are—and been more patient, we could have been writing a completely different story about his legacy today. Instead, the lightweight champion has to live with the sting of that one loss. So what did Makhachev himself have to say about that lone loss? Let’s take a closer look.

Islam Makhachev wishes he could wipe his only loss off his record

Islam Makhachev recently claimed during an interview that the punch from Adriano Martins that knocked him down wasn’t that hard of a blow. But by the time he got together his bearings, the fight was over. That loss was a devastating one for Makhachev and his disappointment was quite evident when Martin’s hand was being raised after the bout. While talking to Match TV, the UFC lightweight champion revealed that he wanted to rewind and fight again, but it was too late, and after a while, he let that haunting thought serve as a reminder and fuel for his then-future bouts.

“I wasn’t that badly knocked out, knocked down. And after the fight, five minutes pass, and in my head, I think, ‘How can I get those five minutes back and be in the cage again?,'” said Islam Makhachev. “I thought about it for a long time. When I felt better, I just let it go and said, ‘What is prescribed to me, no one can change, and what is not prescribed to me, no one can give me.'”

Well, hindsight is 20/20, right? MMA is such an unforgiving sport, that very few emerge from all the hubbub unscathed. We can sit and argue about what “shoulda, coulda, woulda” been, but the best thing for any sane fighter looking for longevity is to accept reality on reality’s terms and move to the next best outcome. That’s probably what Islam Makhachev did. Well, what’s ahead for the lightweight champ now? Do let us know in the comments down below.