Watch Islam Makhachev receive emotional FaceTime from Khabib moments after UFC 284 win over Alexander Volkanovski
ISLAM MAKHACHEV received an emotional FaceTime call from his former coach and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov after beating Alexander Volkanosvki at UFC 284.
The Dagestani destroyer survived a late knockdown in the fifth round to retain his lightweight title and become the sport’s pound-for-pound king in Perth, Australia.
GETTYIslam Makhachev defended his lightweight title against Alexander Usyk at UFC 284[/caption]
TWITTER@UFCAnd he received a phone call from good friend and mentor Khabib after the fight[/caption]
Makhachev was overcome with emotion after extending his streak to 12 wins in a row, but even more so when Nurmagomedov ran him backstage.
Footage backstage captured the pair speaking in Russian on FaceTime, but Nurmagomedov could be heard saying “pound-for-pound king” in English.
Makhachev, 31, revealed details of their conversation in the post-fight press conference.
He said: “He was so nervous. And he say, ‘Hey, why don’t you do, this, this and this?’
“And I said, ‘Hey, if you came to [Perth] and you were in my corner I can do this.’
“‘But you didn’t come.’”
Nurmagomedov paid tribute to Makhachev on Instagram, writing: “Simply the best.
“Proved it in a hard, competitive fight against the best active fighter on the planet.
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“There is always something to work on.
“But this story will remain for a long time in this sport.
Just have a flashback on your memory of who topped the best regardless of weight category from Eurasia in the history of MMA, there were only a couple of fighters and Islam was already on that list.”
Makhachev’s victory on enemy territory saw him rip top spot in the UFC‘s pound-for-pound rankings from Volkanovski’s clutches.
And the Russian relished that fact as he listened to a tirade of boos from the passionate Perth punters.
In his post-fight interview, he said: “You like or you don’t like, I am best [the] fighter in the world right now!”
EPAMakhachev will be at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings come Tuesday[/caption]
A dejected Volkanovski, meanwhile, lamented his failure to capitalise on the success he had stifling the lightweight king’s wrestling.
He said: “I was expecting to win.
“I knew he was really good and I just knew I prepared properly.
“But hey, it was a fun maybe.
“Maybe I could’ve capitalised on some positions a bit more. I left it a little bit later.
“But hey, Congrats to Islam. Great fighter. Maybe we’ll settle pound for pound No. 1 again.”
