Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev did what almost nobody in UFC history has managed: he cleaned out one division, got bored, moved up, and took another belt. The longtime lightweight king — with a record-setting title reign at 155 — now rules the welterweight division, and his 27-1 record reads like a spreadsheet error.

The style is inherited. Makhachev grew up in Makhachkala, Dagestan, training alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov under Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, and the blueprint shows: suffocating chain wrestling, a top game that feels like drowning in slow motion, and 12 submission wins to prove the finish is always loading. What people undersell is the striking — his left hand has quietly become one of the most accurate weapons in the sport.

His only loss came in 2015, a first-round knockout by Adriano Martins that looks more like a typo with every passing year. Since then: over a decade unbeaten, wins over champions in two weight classes, and victories in title fights on three continents.

The debate is no longer whether Makhachev is elite — it's where he sits on the all-time list. Every defense at welterweight moves him another row up.