Islam Makhachev achieved his lifelong goal of winning multiple UFC world titles when he dominated Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 earlier this month. Makhachev won the UFC welterweight championship and reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
As Makhachev begins his welterweight title campaign and prepares for a potential showdown with lightweight titleholder Ilia Topuria, the new UFC welterweight champion is already being compared to some of the all-time greats. Georges St-Pierre and Makhachev’s next potential opponent, Kamaru Usman, are considered the two greatest welterweights in UFC history.
A former UFC champion believes Makhachev would choke out a top-ranked St-Pierre if they clashed today.
Robert Whittaker: Islam Makhachev defeated Georges St-Pierre
In a recent episode of the MMArcade podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker picked Makhachev to defeat a top prospect St-Pierre in a hypothetical matchup.
“That’s tough because GSP has a good game fighting Makhachev,” Whittaker said of the comparisons between St-Pierre and Makhachev.
“He’s got a really good game. He’s a bouncy, karate-like fighter. He likes to punch from beyond the distance, likes to scramble, has the cardio to scramble, really has top-level jiu-jitsu. Honestly, I think Islam could pull it off. If the fight becomes a struggle and a struggle, Islam will come out better just because he’s built for it.”
“(Khamzat) Chimaev would do the same, while GSP used the full toolbox of MMA,” Whittaker continued. “So he used his wrestling and his grappling to finally get back up, take your head off because you’re worried about elimination. Then he’ll take you down again and do the same thing. Islam, he’ll take you down, and you won’t get back up.” (h/t MMA junkie)
St-Pierre is a UFC Hall of Famer and retired from MMA following a middleweight title win over Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
#UFC #champion #picks #Islam #Makhachev #Georges #StPierre #welterweight #GOAT #debate #BJPenn.com