In his incredible career, Islam Makhachev has accumulated wins over three men that have held UFC gold in the past.
He defeated Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier in consecutive fights to earn the biggest wins on his record thus far.
Following the events of UFC 315 in Montreal this past weekend, it looks like Makhachev will face Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title in the near future.
Makhachev does have opponents he could face at 155 pounds but the champion has been so dominant in the weight class that he deserves this opportunity.
During his rise up the rankings, the Russian found it difficult to get matched with the division’s top names with one former champion somehow passing him by.
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Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos were matched up three separate times
There was no argument that Islam Makhachev’s performances weren’t impressive during his climb up the lightweight ladder but if there was one thing that was missing from his resume, it was the big names.
Before he fought for the lightweight title, the biggest win on his record was probably Dan Hooker who he made quick work of at UFC 267.
Makhachev fought Charles Oliveira for the belt after stopping Bobby [King] Green who replaced Beneil Dariush on short notice.
His win over Hooker was also a change of opponent after Rafael dos Anjos was pulled from the event which cancelled their matchup for the third time.
Makhachev and ‘RDA’ were first booked to face one another on October 24 in 2020 but the Brazilian was removed from the bout after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Their matchup was rescheduled for November 14 but this time around, it was Makhachev who withdrew due to a staph infection with Paul Felder taking his place at the last minute.
Though dos Anjos wasn’t on the best run of form following his move up to the welterweight division, it would’ve been a big opportunity for the surging Russian to defeat a former champion.
Rafael dos Anjos is still competing in the lightweight division at 40
Rafael dos Anjos made his UFC debut all the way back in 2008 where he was stopped by Jeremy Stephens at UFC 91.
Following a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2014, ‘RDA’ bounced back with a win streak that would see him win and defend the lightweight title before losing it to Eddie Alvarez in July of 2016.
He even came close to competing in one of the biggest fights in UFC history until an injury forced him out of the champion vs champion clash with Conor McGregor.
At UFC 308 last October, dos Anjos suffered a leg injury in his fight with Geoff Neal which resulted in his third consecutive defeat inside the Octagon.