Islam Makhachev

Green valiantly took a fight against Makhachev on short notice, but on Saturday night, the No. 4 lightweight in the world reminded observers why he is ...

Bahamondes threatened a submission in Round 1, swept into a top position in Round 2 and seized a choke late in Round 3 to win. He was shaking his head and waving his index finger to signal that the punch he'd just absorbed had done no damage. Even when Rong (19-5) tried to take the fight to the canvas, Bahamondes (13-4) had an answer that showed he isn't just a kickboxer. Saturday's main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas was supposed to be a pivotal clash of top-10 lightweights on the rise. Yet Tsarukyan gave Makhachev all he could want in that fight, and they were awarded Fight of the Night honors. And it remains unbelievable that an idea cooked up a decade ago in the mountains of Dagestan could come to fruition here in 2022. On Saturday, the featured prelim pitted Chilean lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes against Rong Zhu of Tibet. Bahamondes is 24 and Rong just 21. Tsarukyan asked for a Makhachev rematch next after beating Alvarez. It might be a bit too soon for that, but a contender fight is not out of the question in the near future. He did what he had to by steamrollering Green and finishing him with ground-and-pound in the first. The knock on Islam Makhachev used to be that he lacked finishing instinct and was susceptible to getting caught. Beneil Dariush was supposed to be the opponent for Makhachev on Saturday, and ESPN has Dariush ranked No. 4 and Makhachev No. 5 in the world at lightweight. Abdulmanap's goal was for his son to retire an undefeated champion and for Makhachev to then take the torch and become UFC lightweight champ.