Islam Makhachev achieved his lifelong goal of winning multiple UFC world titles with a dominant performance last weekend at UFC 322. He throttled reigning UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena to win a unanimous decision, becoming the last two-division champion in UFC history.
Makhachev is at the top of the welterweight division with his performances and has no shortage of potential candidates ready to challenge the new champion. One of those is former titleholder Kamaru Usman, who was Makhachev’s callout target immediately after UFC 322.
Makhachev and Usman have a respectful, yet competitive relationship ahead of their likely title fight. But that hasn’t stopped Usman from mirroring Makhachev on his greatest rival of all time.
Kamaru Usman compares the Islam Makhachev match to the Colby Covington saga
During a recent episode of the Pounds 4 Pounds podcast, Usman made a striking comparison between Makhachev and his two-time rival Colby Covington.
“I almost feel like when there are guys like myself and Islam in the division, you almost feel like if Prates was the champion, what happened to JDM will definitely happen (to Prates). Someone could do that to them,” Usman said of Makhachev.
“When I look at a guy like Islam, I don’t really see any holes (in his game) and that’s something that scares me and that’s when you see some of the most spectacular performances.
“The last time I felt that was against Colby Covington.” (h/t Bloody elbow)
Usman defeated Covington twice in their storied UFC career, with a fifth-round TKO at UFC 245 and a unanimous decision win at UFC 268. Covington hasn’t fought since a loss to Joaquin Buckley earlier this year.
After defeating Buckley, Usman appears to be the frontrunner for the next welterweight title after UFC 322. Meanwhile, Makhachev presents a level of challenge that Usman has faced throughout his career, including twice against Covington.
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