“Not that similar,” Beneil Dariush shares a unique opinion on Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev’s fighting style
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Islam Makhachev- Beneil Dariush- Khabib Nurmagomedov
UFC Lightweight Beneil Dariush who’s on a 7-fight winning streak and possibly the prime of his career thinks his next opponent Islam Makhachev is nowhere close to the latter’s mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov when it comes to how both the Russians stylistically match up similarly in the cage for their opponents, as opposed to contrary belief by most fans and media who think Makhachev represents the absolute image of Khabib in his fights.
Both Dariush and Makhachev are an absolute class of grappling amongst a division filled with strikers in the top 10. Dariush however is confident that he will be comfortable and ready for wherever the fight goes. The winner of this fight is supposed to be next in line for the title shot, traditionally, until timings get unconventional and UFC megastar Conor McGregor makes his way to return in a noticeable manner and hence gets granted a title shot over the champion Charles Oliveira by skipping the line of rankings.
Beneil Dariush thinks Islam Makhachev will shoot for only one takedown in a round unlike Khabib
Dariush attended the post-event UFC 270 press conference to answer some questions regarding his road to a title shot and his upcoming fight against Makhachev. He was asked if Makhachev’s fighting style coincides with that of his mentor in Khabib.
“I would disagree,” says Dariush “I think stylistically, definitely they are not the same. Both great-great fighters, just… they don’t do the same things. You’ll see Khabib shoot [for a takedown] like 5-6 times in a round just to make sure somebody gets tired while Islam will be so accurate with his feints and strikes and then he will get that one shot [to the takedown] and that one shot will put you and then he will be able to hold you…”
“… so they’re not that similar in my opinion. They have similar techniques and goals but the route they take is not similar to it,“ concludes Dariush.
What do you make of Dariush’s comments on the fighting styles between both the Dagestani, grappling heavy mixed martial artists? It’s easy to see Khabib’s image in Makhachev but a successful style has to be moulded from time to time in order to stay a level above in the fight game, which Dariush believes his opponent is. Who do you think wins between Dariush and Makhachev?
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)