Gaethje is the most dangerous opponent for Makhachev. Islam has never fought with such a drummer.
Igor Nekrasov August 1, 2023, 17:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
A Russian cannot be saved even by fighting.
Last weekend at UFC 291, Justin Gaethje brutally knocked out Dustin Poirier, winning the BMF title and becoming the top contender for the upcoming title fight. Highlight will likely become the opponent for the winner in the Makhachev-Oliveira pairing, and if Islam gets the better of Charles, he will be up against an incredibly dangerous guy.
In his UFC career, Islam has never fought a puncher as hard as Gaethje. Volkanovski is far from a puncher, he doesn’t get many endings even at featherweight, Oliveira is more about wrestling than punching technique, Bobby Green and Dan Hooker aren’t the type of fighters you can call “cool puncher”. “.
But about Justin, you can. The owner of the BMF belt packs a powerful punch, and his opponents know it firsthand. For example, Dustin Poirier.
“He has experience in wrestling. If his defense against the takedown holds up, in my opinion, Gaethje will be a problem for Islam. He has heavy hands. I felt it even through the block. He hit me twice in the body with straight lines. I did not hit the organs, I did not hit the liver, but the chest, but I was sensitive. He’s got strong bones, he charges hard, he invests in punches. A hook went off on a tangent due to the fact that I reacted in time and turned my face away. At the moment of contact, I turned, and this saved me, because I think he would have stopped me if I had passed him cleanly. He was burned by the heat of this bomb. Hit hard. If Islam fails, if Gaethje doesn’t let himself be brought down and lands those blows right on target, Islam will fall. Gaethje is a terrible puncher. So it all comes down to defending him against takedowns, if it works out,” Poirier said.
More on the Gaethje vs Poirier fight:
Gati floored Poirier with an incredible high kick. Contender for the best knockout of the year?
The problem for Makhachev also lies in the fact that he misses a lot, the fight with Volkanovski proved it. And if in a duel with Alex he took the blows, then Gaethje can turn off the light for anyone. Also, Makhachev has already been knocked out, which also adds to the experience.
Dustin Poirier logically said that it all comes down to whether Islam can translate Gaethje or not. But Makhachev’s fight is far from being as strong as Khabib’s. Even in the case of transfers, he does not always keep the opponent on the ground and is difficult with tricks without Khabib’s prompting.
Islam is unlikely to be able to quickly win the battle, as Nurmagomedov did. And in the standing position, every second with an opponent like Justin is extremely dangerous: a little stagnant, a little mistake, and you already have dreams. Porrier won’t let you lie.
Well, I have to say that Justin will go into this fight as motivated as possible. This may be the last chance for Gaethje, who will turn 35 in November, to become champion. And for this chance he will cling to the end. In addition, Highlight still keeps Nurmagomedov’s loss in his head and declares that the victory over Makhachev will be able to close him out.
On the possible transition of Islam to another division:
It’s time for Makhachev to leave the division. No one stayed at lightweight
But Islam may well underestimate the opponent. Makhachev is looking towards the welterweight division, looking for new challenges for himself, and for the usual privateer, at first glance, the defense of the belt, it may seem too relaxed. But Gaethje does not forgive this.
