Daniel Cormier: Nobody shall be as dominant as Khabib
In a current episode of Good Man/Unhealthy Man with Chael Sonnen, Cormier weighed in on the Makhachev/Nurmagomedov comparisons.
“Whenever you have a look at this comparability, the dominance,” Cormier mentioned of Makhachev and Nurmagomedov. “28-1 of their UFC careers, 17 finishes, that’s absurd. I don’t know that it’s truthful to check them, particularly based mostly on a standard opponent, as a result of I consider that Dustin Poirier was higher as a result of he had the chance to combat Khabib Nurmagomedov. He had felt that power, grappling, and slightly little bit of a recognition in what he can be going through when he obtained into the Octagon. I used to be one of many those who mentioned early, ‘I believe Islam Makhachev is extra harmful than Khabib’ due to his hanging. However as I replicate on this, I don’t know if we’ll ever see anybody as dominant as Khabib…
“How usually did you see Khabib Nurmagomedov not look outwardly dominant?” Cormier continued. “That’s the place I believe you make the distinction. We don’t know what would’ve occurred if Khabib stayed for some time, however historical past tells us he’d nonetheless be holding on to the championship proper now. With about 8 or 9 title defenses, and nonetheless sort of dominating the way in which that he did. The dominance is totally different. Islam will stand with you greater than Khabib was prepared to, however it was the concept you knew what Khabib was going to do to you, and also you couldn’t do something to cease it.”
Nurmagomedov retired with a 29-0 file in MMA, together with wins over Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Poirier. He retired in 2020 after the victory over Gaethje and the tragic loss of life of his father, Abdulmanap.
Makhachev is unbeaten since a knockout loss to Adriano Martins in UFC 192. He has received 14 consecutive fights and has surged to the UFC’s pound-for-pound No. 1 spot.
Cormier feels Nurmagomedov and Makhachev have some similarities of their profession trajectories, however that the talk stops when you think about Nurmagomedov’s dominance within the cage.