“It’s a problem for the world”- Daniel Cormier reveals how he reacted when he saw Dagestanis like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev joining MMA
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Daniel Cormier Khabib Nurmagomedov Islam Makhachev
Daniel Cormier shares his experience of watching Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev for the first time talks about Makhachev being the best in the division. Nurmagomedov with his Dagestani team consisting of Makhachev and other fighters joined American Kickboxing Academy during their early days. Back then, Cormier and Nurmagomedov used to train a lot together and had a lot of respect for each other. They quickly became friends and currently are extremely close together.
Due to his MMA training in AKA, Nurmagomedov became a force of nature and went undefeated for 29-0 and dominated every single opponent inside the octagon. He was able to build a legacy for himself which, after his retirement, is being carried by Makhachev. The 30-year-old is currently on a 10-fight win streak and is one of the top contenders for the lightweight title.
Daniel Cormier on Islam Makhachev’s skills
Cormier recently did an interview with MMA Fighting where talked about the current UFC fighters, upcoming pay-per-view events etc.
While talking about Nurmagomedov and Makhachev, DC remembered the first time he met both the guys. Watching them inside the gym Cormier realised that the Dagestanis are impressive in wrestling and are developing their MMA skills. Cormier revealed that he knew that in upcoming years, both Nurmagomedov and Makhachev were going to be tough opponents of the division. DC mentioned Makhachev as the best lightweight in the world with unparallel skills.
He said :
” They just know how to wrestle. I knew the moment I saw Khabib and then I saw Islam, I was like uh-oh, the Dagestanis are starting to do mixed martial arts, it’s a problem for the world. That’s absolutely what has happened…He’s(Makhachev) the best fighter in the world at that weight class.His abilities are just second to none.”
DC’s prediction was extremely accurate with Nurmagomedov as the ‘Eagle’ went on to win the lightweight championship. After that he also defended the title against tough opponents by dominating them all. On the other hand, Makhachev is just getting started. It will be interesting to see if he can imitate the same dominance as Nurmagomedov.
Also read: “Don’t beat me up”- Phil Hawes apologises to Daniel Cormier following a heated in-octagon exchange
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)