Joe Rogan has all the respect in the world for Khabib Nurmagomedov. But he thinks Islam Makhachev might be a touch better.
Makhachev has long been considered the heir apparent to the Nurmagomedov legacy, and he’s done well to follow in the footsteps of the undefeated legend, going 28-1 in his career. He has defended the UFC lightweight title a record four times, and won a second UFC belt at welterweight with a dominant decision win over Jack Della Maddalena in November.
Because of what he’s achieved, and how he’s done it, Rogan makes a case for Makhachev being superior to his longtime friend and mentor.
“Khabib is without a doubt one of the all-time greats,” Rogan said on his podcast. “One of the greatest to ever do it. But the difference between Khabib and Islam is Islam is elite standup-wise. Khabib was very good standup, but Islam knocked out Volkanovski with a head kick. That’s not in Khabib’s repertoire.
“Islam is on another level. It’s like one more level above. He can knock you out standing, he can knock you out on the ground. He can submit you. He can take you down. He’s f*cking huge for the weight class, especially at 155. There’s so many aspects and you’re always thinking about that grappling when you’re striking.”
Makhachev has won 16 straight fights since suffering his lone loss in October 2015, a knockout at the hands of Adriano Martins, and he’s currently tied for the longest win streak in UFC history with the great Anderson Silva. His next move remains to be seen, but he has recently angled for his first welterweight title defense to be against former 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman.
Nurmagomedov retired on top in 2020, leaving the door open for Makhachev to step in and pick up right where Nurmagomedov left off. Rogan sees Makhachev as indicative of the evolution of MMA and just as Nurmagomedov influenced him, he expects Makhachev to be an inspiration for the next wave of UFC standouts.
“There’s so many guys that you could learn from by watching and they set the bar so high and that is the difference between watching, like, Keith Hackney vs. Emmanuel Yarbrough way back in 1993 vs. watching Jon Jones in 2025,” Rogan said.
“It’s like, we get to see now these guys that have seen it all. The Petr Yans, the Ilia Topurias, the Islam Makhachevs. You get to see the elite of the elite today, and these young kids that are coming up now, they get to see that and learn from that and incorporate all these things. You’re seeing these guys that are fighting on Dana White’s Contender Series, they look world championship-caliber fighters, and they’re not even in the UFC yet.“
