Accolades: 2016 Combat Sambo World Champion

Record: 18-1 (7-1 UFC)

Last 5 (5-0):
WIN | Davi Ramos | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 242, 7/09/2019
WIN | Arman Tsarukyan | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik, 20/04/2019
WIN | Kajan Johnson | Submission (Armbar) 4:43 Rd 1 | UFC on Fox: Alvarez vs. Poirier 2, 28/07/2018
WIN | Gleison Tibau | KO (Punch) 0:57 Rd 1 | UFC 220, 20/01/2018
WIN | Nik Lentz | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 208, 11/02/2017

Next fight: Not booked

Right among the best of the UFC's many up and coming Russian fighters is Islam Makhachev, another in the line of renowned combat sambo practitioners to represent the region. A close friend of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev employs a similar style to his American Kickboxing Academy teammate with pressure wrestling and a punishing top game with which he grinds out dominant wins. The Dagestan native has understandably had trouble consistently finding opponents, but looks set to make a huge step up in competition with Kevin Lee pushing for a fight against the fifteenth ranked lightweight. Having fought twice in each of the last two years, Makhachev could well be the next 155-pounder to quickly climb the ranks.