Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and champs have weighed
in on whether Islam
Makhachev has earned GOAT status.
The Russian defended his welterweight title for the first time at
UFC
330, picking up his fifth defense overall in the UFC after a
dominant run at lightweight. His latest win, a decision victory
over Ian
Garry, served as a record-breaker, with Makhachev now the
leader for most consecutive wins in promotional history.
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Chris
Weidman, Dustin
Poirier and Jorge
Masvidal have offered their takes on where he stands among the
sport’s greatest fighters.
Chris Weidman questions Islam Makhachev’s title defenses as
Dustin Poirier backs Jon Jones for UFC GOAT
In the latest episode of “Deep Waters,” Weidman, Poirier and
Masvidal shared their thoughts on whether Makhachev has earned the
right to be called the greatest fighter in UFC history. “I am not saying that yet,” Weidman said, responding to the
question about Makhachev being the GOAT now. “Because I’m still old
school… Title defenses mean a lot and you go back to Anderson
Silva or Demetrious
Johnson if we’re ever talking about GOAT… I don’t know if he’s
there yet.”
Poirier then chimed in, giving a definitive answer for who he
considers the GOAT.
“To me, Jon
Jones.”
Masvidal, meanwhile, pointed to the level of competition Makhachev
faced during his lightweight title reign. While the former BMF
champ acknowledges Alexander
Volkanovski as one of the greats, he emphasized that many of
Makhachev’s 155-pound title defenses came against former
featherweights.
“Two of those title defenses at lightweight were to a ‘45er,”
Masvidal said before Weidman pointed out that Charles
Oliveira also previously fought at 145 pounds.
Has Islam
Makhachev earned GOAT status? pic.twitter.com/38qMXm5ZTf— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 18, 2026