Islam Makhachev stands at the top of the mixed martial arts mountain in the eyes of many, including a pair of all-time legends within the sport. The two referenced fighters in this context are Israel Adesanya and Demetrious Johnson, who reflected on Islam Makhachev’s victory over Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15th.

The former two-time UFC middleweight champion discussed this contest with DJ via Precision with Mighty and Izzy, with an excerpt of the interview shared by way of X user @RedCorner_MMA, Adesanya said,

“Islam [Makhachev] just proved that he’s the best out of the bunch. I like Usman [Nurmagomedov] as well becauase I like the way he kicks. He’s got that taekwondo flow. But when you put it all together, when it comes to mixed martial arts, yeah, Islam is the one. He’s the best fighter in the world right now. Again, he keeps fighting guys I like. So I keep picking against him… It’s like he can’t keep getting no wins, no [laughs]. My parlays! Nah, nah, I’m joking [laughs].”

‘Mighty Mouse’ agreed with the assessment of the Dagestan-based champ being the top pound-for-pound combatant in the game today. The former UFC and ONE Championship titleholder uproariously laughed when Adesanya mentioned his quandary with how Makhachev keeps fighting competitors that ‘The Last Stylebender’ enjoys watching.

Islam Makhachev also receives his flowers from Khabib Nurmagomedov after historic UFC 330 title defense

Islam Makhachev is so closely tied to his legendary mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the latter has heaped quite the praise on the former as the residual fallout of the weekend’s action continues to ripple out. The former UFC lightweight champion took to Instagram to offer his thoughts on his star pupil’s massive victory in Philadelphia, as Nurmagomedov stated [via BJPenn.com],

“There’s a word: Achievement. In sports, it means a lot, and Islam and ‘achievement’ are synonyms. He has reached the pinnacle of this sport, broken the record for the longest winning streak in UFC history, and is rightfully considered one of the best athletes to ever step into the Octagon. May the Almighty keep you safe, Brother.”

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM