Islam Makhachev has taken aim at a trio of UFC icons, claiming that they haven’t earned their Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts.
The pound-for-pound number one wasn’t shy in insisting that some fighters get the accolade as a ‘gift’ from their coaches.
Islam Makhachev slams Dustin Poirier, Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson
Coming from Dagestan, Russia, Islam Makhachev knows a thing or two about grappling.
And he’s had absolutely no problem in expressing his opinion about who does and indeed doesn’t deserve to have a black belt around their waist.
During an intriguing interview with Hosheh MMA, the hosts decided to play a little game with the lightweight champion.
They named several MMA stars and asked the Russian whether they should really have a black belt or not.
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The segment started off strong, with Makhacehv singing the praises of both Tom Aspinall and Aljamain Sterling.
However, it soon descended into chaos. When asked about what belt Dustin Poirier deserves, the legend replied: “Maybe brown”, which resulted in raucous laughter from the presenters.
Makhachev then said the same thing about Paddy Pimblett, before really laying into Tony Ferguson.
He exclaimed: “No, he don’t have black belt. He has a couple of things on the ground that he did with many fighters. But he is not a real black belt. I work with real black belts; it’s so tough. For the fighters, they get a gift. Some don’t deserve it.”
While ‘El Cucuy’ will undoubtedly be livid with those comments, he’ll likely never get to settle his differences with the 155-pound champion in the cage, but Pimblett might.
Paddy Pimblett calls out Islam Makhachev
On July 27, in front of a packed house at the Co-op Live in Manchester, UK, ‘The Baddy’ produced the performance of his career, rendering King Green unconscious via a brutal triangle choke.
The tremendous showing officially earned the Liverpudlian a place in the top 15 of the UFC rankings.
Therefore, a title shot might not be too far away, with Pimblett saying on his YouTube channel: “Makhachev, I’m coming for you, brother.”
However, a recent video showcasing the Scouser’s enormous weight-gain indicates that he’s a long way away from the lightweight limit.
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