Belal Muhammad has witnessed and experienced just how deserving Islam Makhachev is for his current pound-for-pound king position in UFC.
Makhachev gained the top spot in the rank after defeating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. It was a momentous victory for the Russian as he not only defeated “The Great” again in the rematch but also made a first-round KO win. After that, the fighter gained the respect of the promotion and reached the top of the P4P ranking. Despite that, some still doubt Makhachev’s position, but the fighter’s allies say otherwise. That includes Muhammad, who experienced firsthand what it was like to train with the lightweight champ.
In his recent interview on Overdogs Podcast, “Remember The Name” recalled the experience, sharing being submitted by Makhachev on a daily basis while training for his UFC 294 match.
“I was getting tapped out by Islam every day,” Muhammad said. “And I was like, ‘Man, do I really suck? Am I just like- I’m not on that level,’ but I think those guys are just on another level than all these other guys.”
In the end, while some might still not agree that the Russian deserves his spot, Muhammad believes that the fighter can excel in all possible divisions. And despite admitting his failure in those times he trained with Makhachev, the No. 2 welterweight fighter shared that the champ’s other training partners experienced the same.
“Yeah, I think Islam is definitely pound-for-pound number one, I feel in my book,” Muhammad added. “I think he can definitely go down as one of the best to ever do it, like, skill-wise, and your main training partner is Khabib (Nurmagomedov) your whole life, so like, them guys are just so much better than everybody else, he could still come in right now, be a champion at whatever weight class he chooses I feel. I’ve seen him go with just other UFC fighters; I’ve seen other guys come and visit and train with them guys and then not show up back the next day.”
