By The Numbers: Islam Makhachev

Life at the top seems to suit Islam Makhachev just fine.

The reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder has rattled off 14 straight victories in his ascent to pound-for-pound greatness and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Makhachev last competed at UFC 302, where he retained his 155-pound championship with a brabo choke submission of Dustin Poirier in the fourth round of their June 1 confrontation. It moved the American Kickboxing Academy star to 26-1 overall and 15-1 in the UFC.

As Makhachev awaits word on his next assignment from UFC matchmakers, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied him to this point:

32: Years of age for Makhachev, who was born on Oct. 27, 1991 in Makhachkala, Russia—nearly 7,000 miles from Ultimate Fighting Championship headquarters in Las Vegas.

12: Makhachev wins by submission, accounting for 46% of his career total (26). His methods of choice: three triangle chokes, two armbars, two rear-naked chokes, two arm-triangle chokes, one kimura, one inverted triangle choke and one brabo choke. Makhachev holds five other wins by knockout or technical knockout (19%) and nine more by decision (35%).

30: Seconds needed for Makhachev to punch out Tengiz Khuchua under the M-1 Global banner on Feb. 12, 2011. More than 13 years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.

1: Loss on the Makhachev resume. American Top Team’s Adriano Martins was the perpetrator, as he felled the Russian with a counter right hook 1:46 into their UFC 192 pairing in 2015.

701: Days spent by Makhachev as undisputed UFC lightweight champion. It ranks as the third-longest single reign in the history of the 155-pound weight class, trailing only longtime mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov (1,077) and B.J. Penn (812).

59: Rounds started by Makhachev as a professional mixed martial artist. He has involved the judges in nine different instances and carries a perfect 9-0 record in those bouts.

5: Active lightweights besides Makhachev (1:18:54) who have accumulated at least one hour of control time in the UFC. The others: Clay Guida (2:06:34), Rafael dos Anjos (1:28:35), Jim Miller (1:23:16) and Beneil Dariush (1:22:35).

300,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Makhachev across his 16 appearances in the UFC. He has been awarded “Performance of the Night” on three occasions and “Fight of the Night” on three others.

88: Significant strikes landed by Makhachev against Poirier, establishing a new personal high-water mark for the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov protégé. It surpassed the 61 he put up in a fourth-round submission of onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance titleholder Thiago Moises in the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner on July 17, 2021.

358: Combined victories between the 14 men—Poirier, Moises, Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Charles Oliveira, Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Drew Dober, Davi Ramos, Arman Tsarukyan, Kajan Johnson, Gleison Tibau, Nik Lentz, Chris Wade and Leo Kuntz—Makhachev has beaten since he linked arms with the UFC nine-plus years ago. They boast a .717 cumulative winning percentage at 358-140-5.