Islam Makhachev (27-1, 18) was born in Makhachkala, Dagestan ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union on October 27, 1991. At the age of 18 years on August 1, 2010, he made his professional MMA debut against Magomed Bekbolatov, winning the fight via 2-round unanimous decision.
On May 23, 2015, 23-year old Islam Makhachev made his UFC debut on his 12th professional MMA fight at UFC 187 against Leo Kuntz, winning the fight in the 2nd round via submission.
He became the UFC lightweight champion on October 22, 2022 at age 30 on his 24th professional MMA fight at UFC 280 after defeating a 33-year old Charles Oliveira via 2nd-round submission.
Makhachev's last fight was a lightweight (UFC Championship) title defense against Renato Moicano on January 18, 2025. He stopped Moicano via submission in the 1st round, successfully defending the title. He is on a 15-fight winning streak.
He has fought 17 times in the UFC, and has a record of 16 wins and 1 loss in the promotion.
Some of Islam Makhachev's best fights have been against Alexander Volkanovski, Renato Moicano, Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Gleison Tibau, Bobby Green and Kajan Johnson.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
28  | Jan 18, 2025 33 years, 2 months 27-1 (18) | 35 years, 7 months 20-5-1 (12) | UFC | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Brabo choke Defended UFC lightweight title |
27  | Jun 1, 2024 32 years, 7 months 26-1 (17) | 35 years, 4 months 30-8 (23) | UFC | LT | 5 | SUB | WIN Brabo choke Defended UFC lightweight title |
26  | Oct 21, 2023 31 years, 11 months 25-1 (16) | 35 years 26-2 (16) | UFC | LT | 1 | KO | WIN Head kick and punches Defended UFC lightweight title |
25 | Feb 12, 2023 31 years, 3 months 24-1 (15) | 34 years, 4 months 25-1 (15) | UFC | LT | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC lightweight title |
24  | Oct 22, 2022 30 years, 11 months 23-1 (15) | 33 years 33-8 (30) | UFC | LT | 2 | SUB | WIN Arm-triangle choke Won UFC lightweight title Vacant |
23  | Feb 26, 2022 30 years, 3 months 22-1 (14) | 35 years, 5 months 29-12-1 (18) | UFC | LT | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches |
22  | Oct 30, 2021 30 years 21-1 (13) | 31 years, 8 months 21-10 (17) | UFC | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Kimura |
21  | Jul 17, 2021 29 years, 8 months 20-1 (12) | 26 years, 3 months 15-4 (9) | UFC | LT | 4 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
20  | Mar 6, 2021 29 years, 4 months 19-1 (11) | 32 years, 4 months 23-9 (16) | UFC | LT | 3 | SUB | WIN Arm-triangle choke |
19  | Sep 7, 2019 27 years, 10 months 18-1 (10) | 32 years, 10 months 10-2 (8) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
18  | Apr 20, 2019 27 years, 5 months 17-1 (10) | 22 years, 6 months 13-1 (10) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
17  | Jul 28, 2018 26 years, 9 months 16-1 (10) | 34 years, 3 months 23-12-1 (16) | UFC | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
16  | Jan 20, 2018 26 years, 2 months 15-1 (9) | 34 years, 6 months 33-12 (17) | UFC | LT | 1 | KO | WIN Punch |
15  | Feb 11, 2017 25 years, 3 months 14-1 (8) | 32 years, 5 months 27-7-2 (17) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
14  | Sep 17, 2016 24 years, 10 months 13-1 (8) | 28 years, 11 months 11-2 (3) | UFC | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
13  | Oct 3, 2015 23 years, 11 months 12-1 (8) | 33 years, 3 months 27-7 (15) | UFC | LT | 1 | KO | LOSS Punch |
12 | May 23, 2015 23 years, 6 months 12-0 (8) | Leo Kuntz | UFC | LT | 2 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke |
11 | Sep 7, 2014 22 years, 10 months 11-0 (7) | Ivica Trušček | M-1 | LT | 3 | SUB | WIN Inverted triangle choke |
10 | Jun 7, 2014 22 years, 7 months 10-0 (6) | Yuri Ivlev | M-1 | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Armbar |
9 | Aug 21, 2013 21 years, 9 months 9-0 (5) | Rander Junio | M-1 | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
8  | Apr 9, 2013 21 years, 5 months 8-0 (5) | 20 years, 6 months 8-1 (7) | M-1 | LT | 3 | UD | WIN |
7 | Sep 2, 2012 20 years, 10 months 7-0 (5) | Anatoly Kormilkin | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Inverted triangle choke | |
6 | Dec 15, 2011 20 years, 1 months 6-0 (4) | Migel Grigoryan | LT | 1 | SUB | WIN Triangle choke | |
5 | Jul 2, 2011 19 years, 8 months 5-0 (3) | Vladimir Egoyan | LT | 2 | SD | WIN | |
4 | Jul 1, 2011 19 years, 8 months 4-0 (3) | Magomed Ibragimov | LT | 2 | SUB | WIN Triangle choke | |
3 | May 6, 2011 19 years, 6 months 3-0 (2) | Martiros Grigoryan | LT | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
2 | Feb 12, 2011 19 years, 3 months 2-0 (1) | Tengiz Khuchua | M-1 | LT | 1 | KO | WIN Punch |
1 | Aug 1, 2010 18 years, 9 months 1-0 (0) | Magomed Bekbolatov | LT | 2 | UD | WIN |
