Islam Makhachev's Crucial Next Step

Sometimes the only way to get what you want is to keep on pushing.

And in the case of the twice lost showdown between Islam Makhachev and Rafael dos Anjos - though this third booking does not guarantee success, for me, personally, I’m just happy to see that the UFC are sticking with this matchup because as far as litmus tests for Makhachev are concerned, I think this is by far and away the most compelling one available.

As I mentioned in my last video on Islam, I believe that this guy is a legitimate talent, as most of you do, and through his victories - in particular against guys like Drew Dober and Arman Tsaryukyan, I think that this relatively slow rise will appear to be tougher than we had originally thought - such is the potential of those two fighters.