Islam Makhachev has a chance to add to his already impressive resume when he defends his welterweight title for the first time at UFC 330 after already setting the record for the most title defenses in UFC lightweight history.
As if defending belts in two divisions isn’t enough, Makhachev can also break Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive wins in UFC history with both tied at 16 currently. For everything that Makhachev has achieved, it’s easy to understand why he’s already entering the conversation as possibly the greatest of all-time but UFC CEO Dana White isn’t ready to hand him that crown just yet.
With Makhachev just days away from facing Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event, White prefers waiting at least until that fight ends before he starts stacking anymore accolades on Makhachev’s resume.
“I don’t think about that stuff until the fight happens,” White said during the Contender Series post-fight press conference. “When we see his performance on Saturday, let’s see how it plays out, but obviously breaking [Anderson Silva’s] record, you keep grinding, you keep fighting, you put your head down and just keep f*cking knocking guys down left and right, by the time you say ‘you know what? I’m done,’ then we all figure out where he ends up in the big pictures. He’s on the right path, that’s for sure.”
Makhachev is already the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and he can sit in even more rarified air if he defends his welterweight title on Saturday night.
But until that fight happens, White isn’t ready to start making any kind of declarations about Makhachev joining the GOAT conversation along other all-time greats like Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
“He’s got all the things there to be the guy,” White said. “I think we should talk about this Saturday night after the fight and see what we all thing based on his performance on Saturday and breaking the record.”
