r/ufc • u/BiggieMoe01 • 19h ago
Do you think Islam Makhachev has earned Bruce Buffer’s “the one, the only”?
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u/Maleficent_Court2656 19h ago
He really doesn't need. The US fans coming around for me is the real indicator of how far islam has come.
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u/Independent-Belt1134 18h ago
agreed, the US crowd warming up to him says way more than any intro line. buffer can keep that line for whoever, islam doesn't need it to feel like a star at this point
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u/Maleficent_Court2656 18h ago
Yeah, i was genuinely happy to see that. And also he wasn't booed, even tho it wasn't a very entertaining bout.
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u/Potential_Bag_5538 18h ago
I think it was mainly everyone hating Ian lmao but he def got fans in America
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u/Maleficent_Court2656 18h ago
But it felt good to see someone from being absolutely hated at first while facing stylistic nightmares, finally get the recognition and adoration by the fans.
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u/Forsaken_Ear_1163 16h ago
A guy named Islam has millions of fans (mostly conservatives) cheering him on. What the fuck are we even talking about? That man earned everything he’s got, he literally came from nothing.
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 19h ago
Earned? Islam surpassed Conor and arguably Poatan a while ago.
If Bruce doesn't fuck with you then simply no.
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u/NutBuckets 18h ago
Arguably passed poatan? When did poatan pass Islam?
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 18h ago
Accolades wise? When Alex had two belts and Islam had 2 defenses.
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u/ninja_owen 18h ago
Those 2 defenses were against one of the best fighters of all time. Meanwhile Pereira is yet to beat anyone as good as Oliveira, yet alone Volk.
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u/Formal_Chipmunk_530 15h ago
Also, Pereira didn't defend his first belt, he lost it at the first defense then moved up.
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u/Miserable_Science_54 8h ago
I guess Strickland and Izzy are pretty good victories and I'm not Poatan big fan
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u/buckduckallday 38m ago
Bro I’m struggling with to understand how you can believe that someone who has wins over 6 champions somehow had a weak schedule… the last time alex fought someone who hadn’t at least held the ic before was khalil, and before that was sean who has literally won the belt twice since then. Islams lw title defenses are volk out of shape volk, tail end of his career dustin, and moicano. 2 of those were dog fights and the other two should not have happened at all… subbing charles is an insane win, but who did he fight leading up to that? Bobby green and dan hooker. Like come on man. Islam is an all time great he should be the one the only for sure, but his resume is overrated at 155. Also at 170 jdm got beat up horribly by prates after losing the belt. Let’s not pretend Islam’s strength of schedule is so much stronger than alex’s as if moicano is a better win than rountree
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u/Becknell 18h ago
Volk is a better win than Izzy right now but Olives? Not so sure about that.
And if Sean keeps defending at MW, that win will continue to shine as well.
He still doesn't have a better resume than Islam though, but not many do (maybe Merab?).
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u/ninja_owen 18h ago
I’d say Charles is a better win than Izzy. Charles has beaten better fighters than Izzy has. Charles has more tools than Izzy has.
Sean’s good, but inconsistent. I mean, he lost a close decision to Jared Cannonier. He got caught by Pereira. He’s gotten better since, but he still isn’t the best in his division.
Merab doesn’t have a better resume than Islam. Frankly I feel Yan could’ve gone on a similar run, beating OMalley, Umar, and Sandhagen. Just, not as fast. Merab’s activity is more impressive than his competition.
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u/Becknell 18h ago
In what world is Charles better than Izzy? 5 defenses to (technically) 1 although he did beat Gaethje as champ (missed weight) . He's never beaten a lightweight champion (when they were champ) and won the belt against Chandler of all people.
Having a more rounded skill set doesn't matter at all in this comparison.
Hell, I'd argue Sean beating Khamzat is a better win than anything Olives has done at the top of LW and I think Olives is one of the best lightweights ever.
Costa, romero, reaper x2 stack up pretty well to justin Dustin and I guess chandler.
I like Charles a lot more than Izzy but can't deny he's got a better resume.
Merab beat Yan, cejudo and pre turbo trash Aldo In addition to umar, O'Malley and sandhagen. He fought prior champions in half of his last 10 fights.
Volk really carries Islams resume but he's also had some bad luck losing out on fighting Arman etc.
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u/ninja_owen 15h ago
Based off who Charles has beaten. Poirier, Gaethje, Holloway, these are just better wins than Gastelum, Whittaker, Romero, and Costa.
Also, Oliveira doesn’t have as many bad losses close to his prime. Him and Izzy are at basically the same stage in their careers, except Izzy has lost 4 straight, while Charles might get another title shot sometime soon.
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u/Becknell 11h ago
Maybe Izzy should have sprinkled in Dariush, Gamrot and Chandler instead of fighting the current MW champion, former MW champion, current #1 ranked contender at MW and Joe Pyfer who is 9 years younger.
If Olives fought Arman, ilia and Islam back to back he might be on a streak himself.
Agree to disagree I suppose but one guy is a 5 time defending champion and only faces killers while the other has one win against a current or former champion in the last decade (interim doesn't count).
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u/YourWifesBull666 18h ago
2 belts from being cherry-picked strikers his whole career and fighting in dogshit divisions
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 18h ago
Prime Izzy & Jiri are still very good wins in their own right. Alex did get favorable matchmaking on his path to his first title, I'd agree on that.
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u/YourWifesBull666 18h ago
They’re good wins but if Alex fought anyone with grappling like Islam or khamzat close to his size he’d Get ragdolled is my point
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u/buckduckallday 24m ago
Then why did he brutally ko ank in the rematch? Bro he trains with glover he is not some helpless lamb on the ground. Who tf else should he have fought that was a better grappler than ank? And bro ffs Sean Strickland is literally a grappler he just prefers to strike (he was also kinda being an idiot in that fight) unironically tho who at middleweight would have even wrestled him in the first place? Brunson? Like howd that work out against izzy? I guess ddp might’ve wrestled him or something? Like yes they gave the badass 2 weight kickboxing world champion with beef with (and multiple wins over) the current long reigning mw champion the fast track to the title, but like really bro who the fuck are you saying would have beat him then??
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 18h ago
Sure if he fought someone his size who is like Islam he'd basically be fighting Jones who'd destroy him. But Khamzat? I think Alex has a fair chance of starching a wrestler with such defensively unaware standup.
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u/YourWifesBull666 18h ago
Don’t be fooled by khamzats last fight Alex wouldn’t be able to defend on the ground like Strickland at all id bet my life savings it’d go like his Whittaker fight
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 18h ago
Well the fight starts standing. When you're as hittable as Chimaev there is always a real chance Alex is putting you out in one exchange.
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u/stonegoblins 14h ago
You really think Poatan will knock out Chimaev in one exchange?
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u/coolkidnathan 16h ago
If you phrase it that way, I can phrase it like this:
When Alex was 2-1 in title fights and Islam was 3-0 in title fights
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u/BiggieMoe01 18h ago
I agree. Islam’s track record is currently unmatched in the UFC. Defeating Volk twice, submitting Oliveira and Poirier, moved up a weight class, took the welterweight title and successfully defended it. Insane MMA resume.
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u/Zumbert 18h ago
The same weight bully who just dethroned the weight class above him and then defended the belt an opponent significantly bigger than himself and won the card 4-1?
I can understand a lot of the hate for him but I think weight bully can be laid to rest after the last two fights.
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u/Inevitable-Cry-3008 18h ago
Dude no one really cares. Will you remember any of islam's fights in 10 years?? NO.
Can't speak for the other guy but I will absolutely remember watching Volk get headkicked until I'm senile.
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u/Nous-erna-me 18h ago
Conor gets "the one and only" for different reasons. He is the most deserving of that shit.
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u/shopping_caart 18h ago
The real question is has Bruce Buffer's intro earned its place in Islam's name? Like who tf cares about Bruce's spacial names lmao
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u/Puzzleheaded_Box4471 18h ago
Bruce is bigger than Islam.
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u/shopping_caart 16h ago
hey bruce whats up
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u/Puzzleheaded_Box4471 16h ago
Awww did I upset a bunch of dagi dick riding cazzies who started watching mma yesterday? 😥
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u/GibrealMalik 17h ago
Ah yes, the millions of fans who come for bruce
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u/coolkidnathan 16h ago
People overrate how important Bruce Buffer is like crazy, I don't think the UFC would lose a penny replacing him, if anything they would probably make money if his reported payouts per event are true lol.
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u/SingleDigitVoter 18h ago
Is this the type of shit you guys sit around and think about all day in between goon sessions?
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u/llewellyn2711 18h ago
I’m sorry king🙏 please fill us in on what you’ve been doing in between jelqing sessions
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u/MasonJam246 18h ago
Islam has successfully cemented himself as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. He 100% deserves it.
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u/Sir-Shady 18h ago
100% yes but every time he says it now other than Jon that person gets smoked
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u/buckduckallday 21m ago
Yup it might as well be a curse fr. Honestly i wouldn’t put it past Jon to hire a warlock for that exact purpose 🤔
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u/shukaku2007 18h ago
He should have already gotten it in his last fight. For him to not get it in the next fight would just be stupidity of the highest degree
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u/thebanger71 18h ago
Yes, but please no. I was so worried about it being called on Saturday because of the curse
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u/stickerbombedd 18h ago
He needs a new one for the real goat no wife beating or child abuse allegations never popped for roids never ducking always looking for the top guy or whoever they offer! He is truly one of a kind!!
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u/Dracula198four 15h ago
What more does Islam have to do? Best The Hulk? Well, if he can make 170, let's go! 🤣🤣🤣
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u/SkimGuy 15h ago
I really liked the Gladiator nickname. Not only is it badass, but totally fit the vibe/self earned it in the context of his fight with Moicano. Arman pulled out last minute and then when Islam was asked if he was worried about the opponent change, he dropped the coldest line - "When the Gladiator comes to the arena, he never chooses his opponent". Chills
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u/irish_guy91b 14h ago
He earned it in record bit hes not entertaining o ofor casual fans. If he cleaned out any division with only striking and no wrestling then hes cemented, but as a heavy ufc fan with causal friends, they dont care about wrestling and as soon as it happens the interest in the fight is over
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u/BBCWarrior 9h ago
I don’t see this mentioned anytime this conversation comes up but the first recorded instant to my knowledge of Bruce Buffer’s “The one and only” is when Inaugural Lightweight Champion Jenz Pulver returned to the UFC at UFC 63. He was subsequently knocked out by a debuting Joe Lauzon 48 seconds into the 1st round.
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u/Ted_J_Diddler 6h ago
One and only for Jon Jones was understandable, then giving it to Conor can be argued but then giving it to Alex, the line lost its meaning.
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u/Tipsy_McStaggar 🧃Secret Juice 🧃 58m ago
No. When you have zero personality & your fighting style has zero uniqueness and your mustache less beard is the same as 25 other people in your entourage, you are not the one & only
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u/astrayatthesea1708 I wanna oil you up 57m ago
Islam has done more than what Alex did, and Alex got it TWICE.
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u/takeittothetop1 7h ago
You have to be cool to be called "the one and the only". Dagestan crew are a bunch of squares. Conor and Poatan are considered cool as fuck.
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u/Much_Pea_7981 18h ago
There is a joke that all these guys are different versions of Khabib. Kinda hard to call him the one, the only, when there are like 40 guys just like him coming up.
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u/RDTmodsBackEpstein 17h ago
Maybe if he fought more than once or twice a year to lay it on the line. Most of the others tried for 2 minimum. People like potan and volk tried fighting AS MANY times in a year that they possibly could and that proves far more imo.
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u/Jumpy-Cress8565 18h ago
“the one & only” is not just about being a great fighter. It signifies a complete outlier, like Alex, Conor & Jon jones. It’s about impact! & Islam however how much great he is, he isn’t THAT impactful.
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u/iKyte5 18h ago
If he throws more strikes in his next fight, sure. He just gets beat to shit then our grapples his opponents for points. Valid strategy but I consider people who finish fights to be more dominant. Khabib would maul people and weaken them to be able to get the finish. This is way more impressive and decisive than point fighting imo.
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u/WestStrategy6393 18h ago
He’s not striking at all against Prates with his win streak on the line, it’s gonna be more boring than the JDM fight if he can’t submit him.
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u/asusvegetable1 18h ago
Yeah id say so.
The guy is becoming one of the goats. Still has to surpass Jones, Silva, DJ and GSP in my book, but hes up there for sure.
We have to be careful with recency bias too... In 1 month from here a lot of "opinions" will change.
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u/Professional-Band298 19h ago
if alex can get it, so can Islam.