The advent of Dagestani fighters in the UFC has rocked the promotion in a positive way. With the success of Khabib Nurmagomedov, many more from his native land followed suit and entered Dana White‘s promotion. While there has been no bigger Dagestani star than ‘The Eagle’, there is a possibility that his protégé, Islam Makhachev, has had a better career than him so far.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fighters that the UFC has ever seen. Moreover, his record is legendary not just in the world’s biggest MMA promotion, but in the sport as a whole. However, we have several reasons to believe that Islam Makhachev has had a better career than Nurmagomedov as we inch closer to UFC 294. Let us look at why that could be true.

Islam Makhachev has been more active than Khabib Nurmagomedov ever was

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has fought 13 fights in the UFC from 2012 to 2020. It’s been almost eight years of him fighting in the promotion, and during that time, he lost no fight and retired undefeated. When it comes to his protégé, Islam Makhachev, he’s had 14 fights from 2015 to 2023. That’s one more than ‘The Eagle’. While that may not seem like much of a difference, it makes Makhachev more active than Khabib Nurmagomedov.

With Khabib Nurmagomedov retired, Islam Makhachev has equaled his mentor’s record of fighting eight years in the UFC. He averages more in terms of being active, with 1.75 fights per year compared to Nurmagomedov’s 1.62 fights per year. However, that is a very narrow margin, so let us take a look at another reason why Makhachev has had a better career than his mentor.

Islam Makhachev has faced better opponents

While there is a small margin when it comes to being active inside the Octagon, Islam Makhachev’s record proves he’s fought with way tougher opponents than Khabib Nurmagomedov. The first couple of years saw ‘The Eagle’ fight the most unranked fighters. But he did lock horns with fighters like Gleison Tibau, former champion Rafael dos Anjos, and Edson Barboza. All three fighters lost to Nurmagomedov via unanimous decisions, but Tibau took the Hall of Famer to the limit. Moreover, it was only after defeating Al Iaquinta to become champion that the 29-0 fighter fought the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.

Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev faced a lot of tough opponents on his way to becoming the lightweight champion. Gleison Tibau, who gave Nurmagomedov one of the toughest fights, got knocked out by Makhachev in the first round. Similarly, Nurmagomedov’s protégé went on to defeat Arman Tsarukyan, Drew Dober, Dan Hooker, and Bobby Green on his way to the top. Makhachev had a tough ladder to climb.

Read More: Not Even Khabib’s Record Can Stop Charles Oliveira From Clinching LW GOAT Status Against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, Claims Ex-Champ

However, the most significant and dominant win of his career came against Charles Oliveira. He dispatched the Brazilian in the second round at UFC 280 and became the lightweight champion. Furthermore, he cemented his legacy as one of the most unstoppable forces when he conquered Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. Now, let us take a look at a technical aspect that Makhachev is seemingly better at than his mentor.

Javier Mendez said Makhachev’s striking is better than Khabib Nurmagomedov

During the build-up to Islam Makhachev’s first fight against Charles Oliveira, coach Javier Mendez made a stunning revelation. He claimed that the reigning lightweight champion had better striking skills than Khabib Nurmagomedov ever had. Besides, it is important to note that both ‘The Eagle’ and his protégé have been training with each other since they were children. They developed excellent grappling and wrestling skills. However, Makhachev edged past Nurmagomedov in the striking department.

In an old interview with ‘MMA Junkie’, Mendez said, “His [Makhachev’s] striking is further ahead than Khabib’s ever was.” He also added that Makhachev worked a lot more on his striking than his mentor. “[It is] because of the fact that Islam was working year-round on his striking,” added Javier Mendez. He also mentioned that Nurmagomedov didn’t work too much on his stand-up game. Whereas Makhachev trained with others to get better at striking. If these reasons are not enough to justify the fact that the reigning champion is better than his mentor, the next one will.

Unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev has aspirations for a welterweight move

Before coming to the UFC, Khabib Nurmagomedov had partaken in fights in the welterweight category. However, his UFC career only consisted of fights in the lightweight division. He fought all of his 13 fights as a lightweight, thus cementing his legacy as one of the divisional greats. However, Islam Makhachev is not planning to settle as the lightweight champion.

The reigning champion recently mentioned in an interview that he is looking forward to a welterweight move. He stated that after getting past Charles Oliveira, he could look to fight the winner of Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards‘s fight at UFC 296. He believes that he can beat them if the opportunity presents itself. UFC CEO Dana White loves super fights, and as such, we just might get that in the future. This will certainly put to rest any doubts that Islam Makachev has had a better career than Khabib Nurmagomedov if he becomes the double champion.

Despite the comparisons between the two Dagestani stars, both Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov have carved exceptional MMA careers. However, if ‘The Eagle’s protégé manages to fulfill his destiny to become the biggest Dagestani fighter in history, there may not be any doubt left. He may very well usurp his mentor’s commercial success. We will have to wait and see how that unfolds in the future.

Watch This Story: Joe Rogan’s Body Transformation