The UFC angered the champion from Russia. Why wasn’t Makhachev recognized as the best again?

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The main MMA tournament of the year died down last weekend in Abu Dhabi (UAE): The 294th numbered event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featured ten fighters from the post-Soviet space, and in the main fight of the evening, the league’s best lightweight Islam Makhachev put on the best performance of his career. Khabib Nurmagomedov's successor defended his belt for the second time from the attacks of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, knocking out the Australian in the first round.

The story with the Wolf has come to an end. While the Russians rule the lightweight division, Alex won’t go there anymore — Islam himself is striving for the second belt and the status of the fifth double champion in the history of the main MMA promotion of the world… In the meantime, Makhachev does not understand why the promotion cannot appreciate his Saturday success and 14-match winstrick on merit?

Since the beginning of 2023, Makhachev has been dreaming of first place in the rankings, regardless of weight categories (P4P). And again it didn’t work out: after the defeat of Volkanovski, the UFC champion, although he rose in the list, was still not at the top. He is currently second (Alex has dropped to third), while heavyweight belt holder Jon Jones remains first. The same scandalous American, whom UFC CEO Dana White himself calls the greatest.

Updated P4P rating. Top 5

FOR REFERENCE. The term P4P first appeared in boxing in the 90s; in 2013, this system began to be used in the UFC. The P4P (Pound-for-Pound) rating is a list of the best representatives of the league from different divisions. The fighters must be on the organization’s roster. When compiling the rating, both the number of defenses and the level of opponents, as well as winning streaks as an indicator of dominance, are taken into account. By the way, when compiling such lists, the opinions of journalists from prestigious media are often taken into account.

Islam's dissatisfaction is understandable. This is the second time this year that he has been “dynamized” with a prestigious status, which in the history of the UFC has only been awarded to one Russian — Khabib. And if now the position of the league leadership can still be understood (we will explain a little later), then the decision not to swap Makhachev and Volk in February is still mind-blowing.

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Let's figure it out: then, in case of victory over the star from Australia, Makhachev should have become first in the updated ranking of the best fighters in the P4P league. After all, Islam came up to that fight in Perth as number two, and Alex was number one! Logically, the Russian was traveling to foreign territory and putting his belt on the line — obviously, the owner of the Octagon was “equalizing” the bet with his position in the P4P ranking.

Islam won, but castling did not happen. Despite that victory, Makhachev remained second, and Volkanovski retained first place. Subsequently, he lost it to Jones, who, after three years of inactivity, beat Cyril Gan and became the best in the main weight category.

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“You know, I am one of those who believes in the disastrous consequences of long periods of inactivity… That a fighter can get rusty, but we didn't see that rust today. Jones made it look like it was effortless and the easiest thing in his life. John is an absolute miracle of nature, the best fighter of all time< /strong>«.

Dana White
shares his emotions after the March UFC 285 one fight and therefore does not stand next to Islam, who has been steadily holding 2-3 fights a year since 2021. What else should the successor to Khabib’s work do to repeat his friend’s success and become the best in the entire promotion? It looks like sitting and waiting for the American to finish his career.