Islam Makhachev

Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (Russian: Ислам Рамазанович Махачев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion and former UFC Lightweight Champion. A professional since 2010, he also became a combat sambo world champion in 2016 and two-time Russian national champion at 74 kg (2014, 2016). As of 18 November 2025, he is #1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. Makhachev holds several UFC lightweight records, including the longest winning streak (14), the most title-fight victories (5), the most successful title defenses (4), and the highest significant-strike accuracy (59.5%). He defeated Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to become the eleventh double champion in UFC history. After defeating Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330, Makhachev holds the longest winning streak in UFC history (17). After surpassing Anderson Silva's winning streak, Makhachev is widely considered to be among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Fight Matrix ranks him as the 2nd greatest lightweight in UFC history after his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is also ranked in the top 20 welterweights of all time.