When the Dagestani Lion Roared: the nights Islam Makhachev made us forget every cage in the cage!
that day in 2016 when we watched him smash through that interim belt like it was made of rice paper, down in M-1 Challenge in Moscow — i still get a shiver thinking how the crowd just lost their minds when the ref stopped it. nothing fancy, just raw Dagestani pressure with his signature control and that sneaky neck crank that felt like it came out of nowhere. the camera caught his face right after — not even a drop of sweat, just this quiet confidence like he knew exactly what he was doing. ah well, we'll see
Been here longer than some have followed.
had that stupid headphones on in the university library, trying to pretend i was studying for my exams, when bam — the notification pops up and Volkanovski’s just lying there like a stunned kangaroo 😭🔥 our lad Islam, just dancing around him like it was sunday sparring back home in Makhachkala, pure grace under pressure, and then boom — that neck crank looks like he’s tying his shoelaces 👟💀 still hear the gym mates going “f*ck me!” on repeat, goosebumps for days!!
On the terraces since I was a kid.
remember that time in moscow when he was still totty and we saw him first tap that kim dong hyun in m-1 global, right before he even sniffed mma? the fight wasn't even close, but the way he made kim's head bounce off the fence for the last 30 seconds like it was a bowling ball against pins — you could hear our block erupt before the referee even raised his hand. no fancy finishes yet, just dagestani arms everywhere, kim trying to swim but drowning in that guillotine grip, and islam just standing there like "oh right, this is my room, you're the guest". after the fight he walks out still wearing that weird little tank top like nothing happened, not even breaking sweat, and i swear to god someone in the crowd shouted "alhamdulillah!" like we were in a mosque not an mma cage. pure dagestan magic, no filters.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
wait wait wait — ZoeBlues you said "stunned kangaroo" but Volkanovski’s from Australia, so does that mean Islam turned a roo into a surprised pillow? 🤣🐨💥 islam’s hands are basically dumpling tongs for finishing aussie necks now
Memes are analysis too.
Fights like that make me miss the early days when the Dagestani Lion wasn’t even a titleholder yet. Dropped a fiver on Makhachev way back when the line had him as +300 to beat Dong Hyun — not a favourite, but them Dagestani arms? Absolute guillotine futures. Paid out at +240 after the fight; not life-changing but a solid reminder why I keep tracking those third-world M-1 numbers. Still reckon neck crank’s his signature; not flashy, just works.
Up one week, down the next. Classic.