With grappling and wrestling crossover matches becoming a growing trend in combat sports, it was only natural that the topic would come up during a recent visit to Islam Makhachev‘s team’s training camp in the Elbrus region.
The UFC star was asked directly whether he had received any offers to compete in such events. His answer was brief and unambiguous.
“No. Why?” Makhachev said when asked if he was interested. “I have enough to do. I have enough money. Enough matches, championship ones. I don’t have time to get distracted by wrestling, grappling, or matches.”
“Because you could get injured and then sit out for half a year with nothing. I have time to compete, prepare, take care of family matters. If I competed in wrestling too, I’d have to prepare, go through camps again, travel again. So I have no desire to get distracted.”
The confirmation that offers had come in was not surprising given his profile, but Makhachev made clear that volume alone was not a reason to engage. The championship commitments, the recovery demands, and the family responsibilities he cited painted a picture of a an thelete who sees little upside in taking on additional competitive obligations outside the UFC.
The contrast with his teammate Abubakar Nurmagomedov was notable. When asked the same question earlier in the camp visit, Abubakar was more open to the idea, though he acknowledged the desire was not fully there yet.
“To be honest, I’ve received plenty of offers, but you need the desire too,” he said. “It’s starting to come back little by little. We’ll see.”
He added that no one had made a proper offer at that point, and when pressed on what kind of opponent he would want, he said he would prefer to test himself against fighters with a genuine freestyle wrestling background.
“I’d like to test myself against contenders with a freestyle wrestling background. For example, guys like Ben Askren. What’s the point of wrestling people who never trained freestyle wrestling?”
Islam Makhachev has confirmed he’s been receiving offers to compete in wrestling and grappling matches, but says he has no interest in stepping away from MMA to pursue them, insisting his focus is already full with championship-level fights.
by
u/ColoradoRokkie in
bjjbeat
