[Music] [Music] [Music] b so what makes islam so strong is it the stand up is the grappling is the cardio is the mind [Applause] he can with boxer he can box with striker like kicker is like he can kick like wrestlers can wrestle like he he good everywhere what makes that takedown so dominant and then able to hold something down on the canvas he's so patient he's so strong and he just goes little little little a little until he gets right where he wants to be [Applause] he's for real that grappler seriously what a beautiful secret sales fighters there is champion there is elite islam is elite there is not a question in my mind that guy called a world championship because there is not a very likely scenario where anybody is going to be able to explain how islam michael chip is not now the number one contender [Music] hey guys you can run but you can hide i'm coming i'm here in a cramped sun-lit living room a gathering of dagestan family members are in mourning prayers bowing and kneeling quietly the spiritual solemnity of their sacred practice is a silent strength observed [Music] february 26 2022 in the octagon a catchweight battle is underway between a focused islam mahashev and a confident bobby green the first round starts cautiously then a powerful takedown by islam the grappling turns to wrestling as green struggles to get free of islam's smothering hold on islam works for a submission but can't find the positioning sitting atop bobby he starts pounding he somehow gets green onto his stomach looking for a choke possibility but it turns into a fierce grounding path islam keeps hitting and hitting and hitting the fight is stopped before green gets seriously damaged no surprise first round technical knockout islam is that dominant [Music] a drone wanders through the sharp craggy mountains of dagestan hanging off the side of a majestic mass of rock at an elevation of 2300 meters the small huddled village of bershie population of a little over 200 simple homes built of stone connected by rocky footpaths with emerald fields lying lazily below and children running from house to house in a small ramshackle gym a village elder is coaching a couple of 10 year old boys in a makeshift boxing ring an older teenager is hitting a speed bag with surety and over in the brightly lit corner a young man is on a taped up heavy bag a quiet place with only the sounds of leather hitting leather and bodies hitting bodies a sense of purpose and a scene of poignancy high up in the bare north caucasus mountains [Music] islam mahashev raises his gloved hands in victory he smiles somewhat shyly as he circles the cage he wraps an arm around a defeated and beaten bobby green who almost seems relieved a fitting conclusion to a stretch of ufc victories for the 30 year old islam but he's still hungry there's the long-awaited lightweight championship belt presently held by charles oliveira islam desperately wants that belt i don't respect bill i want leo one gold one he owes it to himself walks through his village greeting neighbors and speaking softly to the children following him the local hero is welcome everywhere [Music] this his humility is endearing and his unequivocal superiority in the cage is arresting out of this peaceful and serene setting in a southern corner of russia emerged two of the world's fiercest fighters both combat [ __ ] world champions both ufc conquerors both quiet and humble muslims islam ramazanovich mahachev was born on the 27th of september 1991. his birthplace is mahacala dagestan and he grew up in bershie he holds russian nationality and belongs to the loch ethnicity the young man maintains a very private life regarding his family and personal life no one knows if he's married if he has children who his parents are except those closest to him he has fought his way through life and his journey is to climb the ufc lightweight mountain following in the heralded footsteps of habib nurmagomedov islam mahachev and khabib nurmagomedov childhood friends who grew up next door to each other went to the same small school trained in the same small gym trained by the same coach khabib's father abdulmanap always competing against one another always helping each other they worked out using large stones often running up the mountainside three times a day hard work is in their dna school wasn't really important to islam he knew very early on what his life's work was to be and he trained for that he once was asked what he would have done had he not been a fighter and he quietly said a simple life maybe farming or something similar in his mountain ringed homeland maybe i make some some small business and i'm i very like like village farm animals maybe i make something like this the word humble keeps coming to mind when talking about this brave but tenacious young warrior habib nurmagomedov was a ufc lightweight champion who retired undefeated and considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world in recent times the region of dagestan has been recognized as producing some of the world's best athletes in combat sports and produces disproportionately the most mma fighters of any country habib's father abdulmanap told habib before his passing that when he leaves the sportest champion islam will take [Music] although it would be safe to say now that habib is the big islam do you mind being compared to khabib so often i like that because you know i'm a very good guy khabib is the longest reigning ufc lightweight champion winning every battle from april 2018 to march 2021 29 wins across his entire career zero losses he's a two-time combat [ __ ] world champion a russian martial art similar to judo and jiu-jitsu combined with different wrestling styles he wrestled bears when he was nine years old true story khabib's father was his and islam mahachev's longtime trainer i wanna say thank you for my father he died in july 2020 from complications of covet-related heart surgery he told the two boys that his biggest and best investment was them and that investment had paid off handsomely [Music] history [Music] these men have inspired millions and showed the western world the beauty of their culture and story and as they say it ain't over yet for islam [Music] showed early on that he didn't want to be a trivial champion he wanted to stand out pure determination and will he doesn't play it safe he knew mma was his thing when he won an amateur combat [ __ ] tournament that's how it started [Music] [ __ ] is a military martial art that emphasizes striking grappling submission techniques and controlling opponents it is an internationally practiced combat sport and a recognized style of amateur wrestling included by the uww and the world wrestling championships along with greco-roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling islam has all the skills striking grappling wrestling his abilities across all areas of mma is second to none he has developed a solid stand-up game with tight hitting power and his takedowns are already legendary then there's the other tools in the fighters box body triangle holds arm bars half guards full mounts and the killer of them all the submission mahachev is a body mechanic there i think there was an interview with duron duran nguyen and he's just like man when i wrestle with islam he's like that's probably easy that's the strongest dude i've ever wrestled after what happened with my father it's gonna be my last fight and if i give my word i have to follow this since retiring in late 2020 habib nurmagomedov actively coaches and corners mahachev for all his fights habib and islam are like brothers you know this guy not just my teammates not just my friends brother he is like my you know like family you know he always told me what i have to do he just showed me way what i have to do that's why this is not not guy who like just helped me in the gym [Music] he helped me always like his father he's just not my coach you know like he cared about my about my life not about just my sports career they always care about my life habib traveled with islam and his team to the us without his family and was not paid in fact he picked up the tab for hotels rentals and etc he rent big house for team he [Music] rent a lot of cars for him and nobody pay he pay for everything he is the patriarch of the dagestan fighters he watches out for them he takes care of them [Music] islam is very modest and as he learns the english language better he's becoming more confident and relaxed with press interviews your english is getting really good how are you learning i work a little bit because i need to promote my myself but still his privacy is extremely guarded we don't see him outside of training and fighting in the cage the fights can be categorized if need be but outside of his only loss to adriano martens he has gone the distance a few times winning unanimous decisions he has brutalized some opponents in the first round gone two rounds sometimes and always winning there's much discussion about his future dana white the president of the ufc wants mahachev to have another qualifier before fighting for the championship islam isn't impressed that story is coming later but let's talk about our fighter islam the focused fighter the relentless wrestler [Music] the checkmating choker the determined champion here's the story from beginning to present [Music] mahachev began fighting professionally in 2010. at five feet 10 inches tall he competes in the lightweight division his stance southpaw [Music] mahachev competed in m1 global an mma promotion based in saint petersburg russia islam competed within m1 from february 12 2011 to september 7 2014 before signing a four fight contract with the ufc on october 2nd 2014 at the age of 23.
[Music] islam then flew to the u. s in 2014 at the age of 24. [Music] and trained with the american kickboxing academy at their gym in san jose california his career before this was a none other than a seven fight highlight streak completely undefeated 7-0 five finishes [Music] on august 1 2010 the ono islam went on to defeat mogamit beckbolatov via unanimous decision for his professional mma debut at zumata fighting championship 4 in sumadinski the russia year mahatshev made his statement defeating five mma opponents in professional bouts first was tengi's huchua who was finished by tko a very young islam lands a solid left knocking huchua down who then tries a flying takedown of mahachev but fails islam starts pounding him from a standing position while tengis is lying on his stomach strange but true the fight is stopped [Music] [Applause] his second of the year martiro's gregorian is taken out almost immediately islam grappling and pounding they break a left kick to gregorian's head he goes down and islam ground and pounds to a win [Music] the third magomed ibragimov goes down in the second round from a triangle choke submission vladimir goyan a battered and bloody nagoyan loses in the third round by decision a good fight for both to mark his 6-0 record mcgill gregorian loses to mahashev by a triangle choke submission in the first round there seems to be a pattern developing with the young islam on september 2nd 2012 at lion fights 2 in saint petersburg russia mahachev submitted anatoly cormilkin with an inverted triangle leg choke after a quick take down and a long series of head punches too easy [Music] in 2013 islam defeated mansour barnubi and rander juno both via unanimous decision at 23 years old mahachev was eager and ready for barnui a fast fight between two young warriors both a bit wild juno kicking islam grappling wrestling and with successive takedowns showing signs of potential greatness some striking and some connecting but gets knocked down in the second juno gets a warning for mouth gouging wild punches and both start tiring in the third round islam is displaying his youthful determination and willpower a great body slam by mahachev [Music] he wins by decision [Music] mahashev faced undefeated brazilian jiu jitsu black belt rander junio on august 21 2013 at m1 challenge 41 his toughest challenge yet a good body kick by juno opens the fight but islam comes back with a body slam and hit throw a quick leg kick puts juno down again in a second and mahachev dominates the third with good hitting and a final takedown he wins a unanimous decision in 2014 mahashev faced yuri ivlev on june 7th at m1 challenge 49 islam once again dominated the fight he softened up evelev with punches before finishing the fight by submission via armbar [Applause] on september 7th 2014 in his final bout for m1 global ahachev defeated avisha truscheck via submission in the third round may 23 2015 was the day history was made the world just wouldn't know it at the time it was this day islam made his ufc debut at ufc 187 in las vegas nevada the american kickboxing academy fighter defeated the american top team's leo coons islam mahachev came into the spout with a lot of hype and that saturday night did a little to slow down the hype train mahachev got the best of things in the first round scoring in close with brutal boxing landing smooth throws and working for submissions from the ground koontz managed to hang tough but never really built any offense [ __ ] slipped early in the second round which ultimately led to his demise both hooks in this time took his back and while kunst did his best to escape mahachev won by tap out due to rear naked choke at two minutes and 38 seconds of the second round [Music] he came here to show off the [ __ ] style and that he did congratulations on a successful debut islam mocking chap ladies and gentlemen the highs of his ufc debut were soon turned upside down fast he suffered a devastating loss in october of 2015 against adriano martins at ufc 192 in houston texas he was knocked down by a powerful right hook over the top he lost by first round tko after the ref had to step in mahachev's first and only defeat so far despite his undefeated record being forever tarnished it seems this loss from seven years ago was the learning experience he needed to truly pursue and maintain a champion's mindset because the story of islam is unlike any other fighters who has experienced the mid-career loss his next streak would be remarkable on september 17 2016 islam defeated chris wade via unanimous decision at ufc fight night 94 in hidalgo texas wade give islam a tough fight both lightweight scrambling for submissions the bout goes the distance with islam winning most of the fight despite lots of grappling and ground reversals for both fighters islam then went on to defeat nick lentz via unanimous decision at ufc 208 in brooklyn new york in february of 2017 [Music] mahachev had great ground control and a decent stand-up game using left hooks from his southpaw stance and an inside leg takedown of lentz islam ground pounds lentz and then a final take down in the third secures the win [Music] mahashiv then fought gleason on january 20th 2018 at ufc 220.
he won the fight in just 57 seconds of the first round with an overhand left for the tko [Music] [Applause] nothing more needs to be said last three my opponent not tapaf this tough opponent now i'm ready for top 15. give me please type top 15 guys mahachev then faced keijan johnson on july 28 2018. [Music] took johnson down in the first round with lots of grappling and controlling k-jam's legs islam worked into a mount and secured an arm bar forcing johnson to tap giving mahachev a submission victory [Applause] he soon defeated our sarukin at ufc fight night 149 in saint petersburg russia on april 20th 2019.
this marked his first fight in his home country since his time before the ufc the fight lived up to the hype for the home crowd islam he is in my opinion probably one of the most talented fighters that is currently unranked and he's got a debut fighter that is a risky fight for him to have taken it is a very risky fight and obviously you know sarukin's coming in with a fantastic record of his own i think he's you know 13 or 1 or something like that now is a very well respected fighter so it saves a lot of work if sarukin can come in here and take out such a name like that a big takedown in the first round and brilliant wrestling equaled by sarutian back and forth action a fast-paced fight grappling excellence tripping and wrist control from ahasha and another takedown by the young dagestani warrior but sarukin bounces back then a butterfly hook from islam he's too much for saruki twisting each other around mahashev grapples in the second round some back and forth they start striking in boxing mahashev wins by decision this was an evenly matched fight a great fight mahashev faced david ramos on september 7th 2019 at ufc 242 and abu dhabi united arab emirates islam showed much improved striking skills and a good second round stand-up show almost a little bit bloody now beautiful hand work there by makasha ramos gets a knee to the head and goes down to a ground and pounds oh big punches mahachev won the fight via unanimous decision and the win earned him the fight of the night award 2021 was nothing less than exceptional bigger stages tougher competition three fights three finishes kashev would face drew dober on march 6 2021 at ufc 259 he has six consecutive wins by now [Music] there's a quick take down by islam in the first and in trouble [Music] after yet another take down in the third he won the fight by an arm triangle shoulder choke submission [Music] he's he's for real that grappling serious because that kid drew dober is very good for him to handle drew dober that way i was super impressed the game that he implemented all right like the things that he or he's good at he was phenomenal man like the things that he does well he does extremely well and like i couldn't figure out an answer to it [Music] mahashiv then faced thiago moises on july 17 2021. islam versus thiago moises another unranked guy islam appears to be one of these guys whose names you better get used to after a cautious start to the match islam takes down moises there it is nicely done a solid left kick to moises body in the second round islam pounds on the ground but moises bounces back nice work after smothering moises in the fourth mahachev wins the fight by a rear naked choke submission islam had landed 148 strikes to moyes 18. he does more than just wrestle a bout with former ufc lightweight champion rafael dos anjos was rescheduled and was expected to take place on october 30th 2021 at ufc 267.
