RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Some people get turned off at the mention of pound-for-pound bests , seeing little use in speculating as to whether or not Joshua Van could beat Tom Aspinall if they both weighed the same. Perhaps that whole thing is a pointless hypothetical exercise — in fact, it definitely is — yet the idea of such lists is simple enough.
People like to identify who the best fighter in the world is in real time.
Right now that fighter is believed to be, somewhat unanimously, Islam Makhachev. And right now, Makhachev sits in the rare celestial space between definitive current pound-for-pound best and potential all-time GOAT. The latter is the real talking point, of course. When it comes to the MMA GOAT discussion, just about everybody has an opinion.
For the longest time, it’s been a matter of preference based on era, strength of schedule, and the magnitude of star power (aka, aura). Some people love a good French-Canadian hyphen (Georges St-Pierre), others go in for awe-inspiring alliteratives (Jon Jones), while still others — namely hipsters sporting mustaches — prefer arthouse heroes who register an octave above the hum of critical acclaim (Demetrious Johnson).
I’d argue whoever your GOAT wouldn’t stand a chance against my favorite barnyard animal, the ASS, Anderson “Spider” Silva, even as I anticipate your many objections.
Islam Makhachev fended off Ian Machado Garry to defend his welterweight title at UFC 330. Sarah Stier via Getty Images
Makhachev broke Silva’s UFC record with his 17th straight victory at UFC 330 , which was significant in that he continues to distance himself from another GOAT-like figure, his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. The thing about Khabib was that he barely ever lost a round , much less a fight. Makhachev lost his second UFC fight against Adriano Martins in 2015, which sits as a blemish on his record even if it happened nearly 11 years ago.
One slip is hard to overcome in this conversation.
Yet what separates Makhachev from all the aforementioned champions is that he finds himself in that GOAT discussion without already having one foot out the door. He has a plan, or in the very least a resolve, to defend the UFC welterweight belt against the murderer’s row of contenders who are mashing their fists into their palms.
That is Carlos Prates. Michael Morales. And Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Makhachev doesn’t hesitate to say these names. Nor does he shrink from view when discussing his future. His idea is the same as that of Robert Frost — the poet, not the British boxer from the 1940s — who gave the combat world its favorite saying, “the best way out is always through.”
“There are fighters out there, not exactly breathing down my neck, but there are those that already have 10 wins [in a row],” Makhachev told reporters in Dagestan on Monday, discussing what’s left after breaking the UFC’s consecutive win record. “I don’t know, maybe [I can break] the title fights record? Though the record for title fights is quite large. I fought 10 bouts before getting the title, while the record-holder [Jones] fought for the title in his third or fourth fight.
“So I don’t know what records will come next, but in my weight class I have some very good title contenders. I think I have at least three more spectacular and very tough fights for me.”
Carlos Prates is one of several dangerous contenders for Makhachev's title. Ed Mulholland via Getty Images
Prates, Morales and Rakhmonov — the deadliest law firm ever assembled.
The greatest minefield to 20 straight UFC wins imaginable. A fool’s errand and/or a suicide mission, depending on your skew. One smokes cigarettes like Carlos Mayorga, one is an Ecuadorian phenom who flatlines people with a smile on his face, and one wears dead animals on his head.
Prates has lost just once in his past 15 fights. The 27-year-old Morales, who is massive for the weight class, hasn’t lost yet. Neither has Rakhmonov, whose greatest foe to date has been his own body. If the UFC doesn’t book any of these names against each other, they are coming for Makhachev’s title, one by one.
Yet the thing is, Makhachev wants to see them. He wants to keep fighting, which is very different from the other GOATers. He isn’t flirting with the idea of walking away anytime soon. His idea is to leave no doubt. And if those intentions feel novel, it’s because they are.
Nurmagomedov always had his endgame planned right down the epilogue, and when his father died it only hastened his step toward the exits. He left in-cage fighting and never looked back. St-Pierre went on a five-year sabbatical and only returned to punctuate his GOAT candidacy by winning the middleweight title, beating Michael Bisping in his swan song. He had no real intentions of doing anything more. Silva always had a sense of fleeting, as he flirted with the idea of retirement as far back as 2008.
As for Jones? Jon Jones hasn’t been around all that much. He is either (not) retired or temporarily on hiatus (retired) or biding his time (until he unretires again). One thing he isn’t doing is fighting Tom Aspinall, the man who inherited the undisputed heavyweight title after Jones skedaddled. Whenever Aspinall’s name is mentioned, the arthritis in Jones’ knees gets to acting up.
Of all the GOAT types, only one of them defended a title in two weight classes. That was Jones, whose association to GOATs is stronger than the devil’s own. He beat a 42-year-old Stipe Miocic, who was a husk of his former self after three and a half years away from fighting. In Dana White’s mind, that feat made him the GOAT.
Yet also in White’s mind, had Alex Pereira succeeded in beating Ciryl Gane at UFC Freedom 250 to win a title in a third weight class, he’d have catapulted himself into above all others as the GOAT. Pereira couldn’t do it, which spared the combat world the debate.
As for Makhachev, the consensus best pound-for-pound MMA fighter goi...
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