Islam Makhachev is having a hard time getting credit from his peers as one-time UFC title challenger Michael Chandler has joined fellow UFC fighter Sean O’Malley in labeling Makhachev overhyped ahead of his highly-anticipated lightweight title unification bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.
Chandler has been impressed with what he has seen from Makhachev, a student of Khabib Nurmagomedov, in the UFC but thinks crowning him the next best thing at lightweight based on his recent victories against Dan Hooker and Bobby Green is a little premature.
“Nothing against Islam, you say he looks great, you say he looks unbeatable at times, but he hasn’t really fought anybody,” Chandler, who is one spot below Makhachev in the UFC lightweight rankings at #5, told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin in a recent interview.