Belal Muhammad believes Islam Makhachev will firmly establish himself amongst MMA’s all-time greats with a UFC 330 title defense against Ian Machado Garry.
Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) enters the Aug. 15 headliner at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (Paramount+) tied with Anderson Silva for the longest consecutive winning streak in company history at 16. He will attempt to take sole possession of the record against Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC).
Advertisement
Muhammad, who once put together an 11-fight unbeaten streak in the octagon that was interrupted halfway through by a no contest, has a superior understanding of the difficulty involved of Makhachev’s feat. He thinks it deserves more respect and discussion ahead of UFC 330, as he would strongly consider placing him among the four greatest fighters ever on a Mt. Rushmore if he gets the job done.
“It’s so crazy,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “It’s so easy to lose in this sport. Anything can happen. You can literally walk and slip and catch something, or walk into something. What he’s doing is wild, and also to do it at two weight classes is even bigger. I don’t think that people are understanding how hard it is to put that big of a streak on and get a double digit streak in the UFC. It’s one of the craziest things, and you’re fighting the best guys in the world every single time. That’s going to put him on Mt. Rushmore.
“At what point do you say he belongs up there? They’re not mentioning his name.”
Muhammad (24-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) would view a UFC 330 win as a significant legacy enhancer for Makhachev, because he knows first hand how difficult Machado Garry is to beat. Muhammad lost a unanimous decision to the Irishman in November and went 0-for-7 on takedown attempts in the process.
Advertisement
Although he thinks Makhachev will have more success getting Machado Garry to the ground and keeping him there, Muhammad isn’t ruling out his former foe’s ability to build an effective strategy that keeps him out of danger and racks up offensive points en route to getting his hand raised.
“I just think a lot of people are underestimating Ian,” Muhammad said. “He’s very smart with the way he fights and strategizes and game plans. But obviously Islam is pound-for-pound, but I definitely think Ian is a live dog.
“If he gets taken down, it’s not going to be the same situation as when Shavkat (Rakhmonov) took him down and did a good job holding him. He’s not going to be able to hold a guy like Islam in his guard. Islam is more of a threat on the ground than Shavkat was. If he thinks, ‘Oh, if he takes me down I’m just going to hold my guard and body triangle him and wait for the ref to stand us up,’ that’s not going to be the case.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Belal Muhammad: UFC 330 win would put Islam Makhachev on MMA Mt. Rushmore
