Is Islam Makhachev A Top-5 Lightweight?

I know as well as anyone that the UFC’s rankings are more or less useless in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn’t help but breath a sigh of relief as Islam Makhachev officially moved into the lightweight top-5 as the list updated on Wednesday.

Because, while the number beside his name isn’t overly important, it still does put some pressure on the fighters around him to drop the narrative that has engulfed his rise in recent times.

I don’t believe that there’s no truth to the notion that these lightweights are ducking Islam - to be honest, if they were to duck anyone, he would be right up there on that list.

But given that he had been operating on the fringes of the top-10 up until this point, his low ranking did serve as a deterrent, something that only furthered the risk - especially if you were occupying a higher spot.