Joe Rogan explains why Islam Makhachev is better | MMA News
Joe Rogan has long been a enormous fan of Khabib Nurmagomedov and is an advocate for him being one of the best of all time. Despite his admiration of Khabib, Rogan has revealed why he believes Islam Makhachev to be the better fighter.
‘The Eagle’Â is undoubtedly one of the best athletes to step foot into the octagon. A dominant light-weight that retired without tasting defeat, one thing unheard of at the best degree of combined martial arts.
While Khabib Nurmagomedov’s skill to shut opponents down with his wrestling was far past what we had seen before, his predecessor, Islam Makhachev, has more weapons, according to Joe Rogan. Speaking about the Dagestani elite during a latest episode of his podcast, Rogan singled out Makhachev’s hanging as the key issue in what makes him a different degree than Khabib.
“Khabib is without a doubt one of the all-time greats,” Rogan said. “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.”
After a razor-close first battle between the 2, Islam Makhachev put his light-weight title on the road against Alexander Volkanovski for a second time at UFC 294.
Many anticipated the conflict to be very similar to their first assembly, but Makhachev showcased his capabilities with his hanging. A left high kick put Volkanovski down before the Russian ended the battle with a barrage of hammerfists.
This is not the first time his hanging has been on show. Makhachev dropped Charles Oliveira before submitting him to seize UFC light-weight gold and subsequently put an end to Oliveira’s 11-fight win streak.
“Islam is on another level,” Rogan continued. “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***ing 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.”
Over the past 30 years of its growth, MMA has seen a regular incline in fighter skill.
The early years noticed specialists discovering major success. A pure wrestler with no hanging background might dominate his weight class, or a knockout artist might attain the top of the game without actually being examined in all areas of his sport.
Related: Conor McGregor needs Islam Makhachev title battle
Today, that is not the case. The degree of competitors is a lot larger, and Joe Rogan believes we’re in an period where the very best fighters reside. The new-age fighters know all sides of preventing before they even enter the UFC, and Islam Makhachev is main the way in which for the current technology of fighters.
“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.”
Petr Yan, Ilia Topuria, and Islam Makhachev are all prime examples of how far the game has come in such a short time.
Makhachev has particularly confirmed that you’ll be able to still specialize in an space of preventing and, at the same time, have no holes in your sport.
“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,” Rogan added.
“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.”
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