Nate Diaz doesn’t see what the big deal is with Islam Makhachev.
At UFC 322, Makhachev strengthened his case to be the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, earning a lopsided decision win over Jack Della Maddalena to record his 16th straight win and add the welterweight title to his list of achievements, which also includes four lightweight title defenses.
Makhachev faces stiff competition at the top, with Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira also having won titles in two divisions, and Merab Dvalishvili set for his fourth championship defense next Saturday at UFC 323. Even given Makhachev’s dominance, Diaz still thinks he has more work to do when it comes to being considered the best of the best.
“They just throw that shit out like that,” Diaz said on N3on’s Twitch stream when asked if Makhachev is No. 1 right now. “Like, he’s been here for, like, two minutes and he ain’t beaten nobody that’s great. The best lightweight ever was B.J. Penn. B.J. Penn was beating up Matt Hughes and [Georges-St-Pierre] – did he beat ‘GSP?’ No, he beat his ass, but lost.
“So when you get shit like that and you’ve got whatever Islam did, it’s like, that don’t even match – Not that he can’t be and won’t be, though. But you’re just going to throw GOAT at a motherf*cker when he just showed up on the scene.”
Makhachev has continued the legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov, his longtime friend and mentor who went 29-0 as a pro and also reigned as UFC lightweight champion. Both fighters are known for using their wrestling to neutralize their opponents, resulting in impressive victories that aren’t always crowd-pleasing.
Diaz has frequently criticized fighters who emphasize control over exciting offense.
“They think I’m f*cking just hating because we’ve got our differences, but there’s shit that I’ve seen that I just remember forever and that’s GOAT shit,” Diaz said. “I ain’t seen nothing from them motherf*ckers. I can’t even remember anything but getting bored in all them fools’ last fights, so that name shouldn’t even be thrown at those guys.”
Topuria’s name was also mentioned to Diaz and he received a more favorable review. In 17 pro bouts, Topuria is yet to be defeated, and he’s captured titles at 155 and 145 pounds, defeating the likes of Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, and Max Holloway among other standouts.
“I think he’s a more complete fighter, good fighter, though,” Diaz said of Topuria. “You’ve got to just think of shit that you have to tune in for. Remember B.J. Penn vs. Takanori Gomi? I couldn’t wait for that fight to happen.
Diaz was also asked who thinks should be considered pound-for-pound No. 1 and he went with an old favorite.
“Jon Jones, for sure,” Diaz said.
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