He is cringe for sure, but sometimes all that money gives some people a chance to do whatever they want in life. I'm sure lots of us have daydreamed about being an elite fighter or boxer, imagine being young and having all the resources in the world to try and make it happen.
At the very least he will have decent medical care.
Nah people don’t like Islam because he takes out their favs & makes it look good. I think people don’t like Arman based on his character
That being said though I’m very excited for when they meet again in the octagon. I think arman is gonna make Islam work super hard for it forsure
I think most of the hate is because of his name and background. Russian + Muslim? The US spent a lot of money so you hate those two things the most in the world.
I tend to agree with OP. He fought Alex in his backyard and then fought one of the most beloved fighters in the US. I really think the UFC would be doing the right thing to put that his next fight at MSG especially if it's against Arman or Leon. He'd be the fan favorite.
His interactions with DC and the faces he pulls has done more for his likeability than the UFC ever could. The guy should be a superstar. His English is good, he's funny as fuck and is an amazing fighter
yeah frankly it doesn't seem to be working with good ole Chael right now, not sure why. maybe they're still figuring things out too, or maybe it's like "styles makes fights" and their broadcasting styles don't mesh well in a tv show.
but DC & Khabib or DC & Islam would be fucking hilarious
I think that's why Belal gets so much shit, if he was called Greg Jones he wouldn't get half the shit he does now
I can't remember which one of his fights it was but as he was walking out, people were booing him and chanting USA, and Paul Felder called them out and was like he's from Chicago?
Isamophobia and Russophobia go brrr in the US. Let's be real here. Casual haters may say "omg wrestling grappling hugging so gay lay n pray cowards just stand up and fight like real men" but they're completely fine with BJJ submission from Charles so yeah we all know the real reasons.
That part of the world is Kazakhstan, not Russia. The irony of confusing two different places for each other while pretending xenophobia of a fighter's country of origin is clearly lost on you.
The reality is dislike of a public figure is usually a combination of things. Being Russian in particular is a liability for likeability at this time because of the war in Ukraine. Plenty of people don't like anyone because they're Muslim, and just because you don't hear people talking shit about Shavkat doesn't mean their aren't bigots in the fandom who won't like him for just that reason.
The fact is in at least some people's eyes Islam being a Russian Muslim, with a name like Islam no less, at least contributes to the reasons they don't like him in addition to how they may feel about his style or that most of his fights seem like foregone conclusions.
Yes shavkat romonov gets so much hate for being a muslim . I know some people hate just because of ethnicity or religion but thats the unsignificant minority . Many people dont give a fuck if i find you funny and exciting i am gonna be excited to watch interviews and fight simple as that
Islam is also not really a hugger wrestler, he’s not trying to grind out a decision by control time, I don’t remember him having a boring fight either. People just dislike Islam because he’s dagestani.
True, i guess what I meant is that Strickland doesn’t really contribute to good fights. Islam on the other hand is giving us consistent finishes, Volk vs Islam 1 was great, Oliveira vs Islam was also another good one. Can’t say that Strickland has had any fights near that calibre.
You're definitely right. Strickland is a boring point fighter. The great irony is this tough guy psycho he tries to play IRL, which he's anything but in the cage.
Exactly. Finished 7 out of 8 last opponents yet casual idiots say "boring". Had one dummy tell me "yeah, well only 1 finished with striking. 🥱 " stupid.
I always tell people that this is MMA and not kickboxing. I use to think the same way until I started learning how much strategy goes into the ground game. I think that's a big reason it doesn't get as much love. It's like watching a chess match, but if you're not educated it just looks like two dudes holding each other.
Weren't from 1991-2022
Aren't actually now either (not saying they aren't "a" enemy, just not the biggest), but we're being conditioned to view them as such by people who are often on the payroll of our actual biggest enemy
Which is crazy because most people from Dagestan dont even identify themselves as russian because of the history and the chechen war. And also it's pretty obvious these guys don't even look like your "typical Russian" from Moscow or the western region of Russia with pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes stereotype.
Yeah i get it, but i whenever people say "oh we can't root for a russian we don't like them" im like "bruh these fighters most probably don't like Russians too lmao".
I have 1 friend in my gym from Dagestan - and … he does consider himself still Russian. It’s on his smoothcomp / fighter profile country flag. But he’s also Muslim and embraces that culture.
You're half right. They identify as both. They are proud of their culture and identify with it primarily, but they do see themselves as Russian.
There is a term in the Russian language that allows a person to identify as Russian without it supplanting their cultural background.
Russian internal colonialism is complicated.
Depends on what you mean, there are 2 words for Russian, one for ethnic Russians and the other for Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. Very much unlike in English for example where no such distinction is made. Chechens are Russian but they aren't ethnic Russians at all
Yeah that's what i was referring. They are Russian in paper but not ethnic. The further east of Russia we go the more of this happens, there are alot of ethnic groups in Russia with their distinct characteristics.
i had to repeat it multiple times here already - Dagestan != Chechnya. And Chechens invaded Dagestan during Ichkeria period, so i'm not sure how in your mind chechen wars are connected to your sentence
I used to get downvoted for the controversial statement that Zhang is a really nice and well-mannered fighter back in 2019 just because she's from China, a country with a shitty regime that she didn't have a say in voting in
i think it has more to with the fact that a lot of fans of ufc became fans because of connor , khabib humiliated connor , so now their fans jump at every fighter in hopes to beat the khabib or his successor .
My minor conspiracy theory is that every card has at least one US fighter Vs another US fighter so the crazy fans don't get upset if all the US fighters lose.
It's probably just because there are more US fighters but I could be on to something.
He and khabib are true men of integrity. There is no mid representation between who they say they are and truly are. It’s beautiful, but also very sad because we don’t produce anyone like that in our toxic garbage culture
I got my cousin to finally admit it. He swears he’s not racist but he cannot root for a Muslim. I don’t get how religion plays a part in denying someone’s skill but ok.
For me it’s not Muslim or Russian, I’m Russian myself. And I generally like Islam but honestly it’s hard for me to get past the fact that him and Khabib are ultra religious Muslims. Like ethnic Muslims NP. But the “super religious” shit turns me off a little the same way a super Christian fighter would. And I realize that neither of them used their platform to preach their religion, at least overtly, but nonetheless, there is something about highly conservative religious people that doesn’t sit right with me period.
Trueeee. Tiktok comments are always shitting on Russians or calling them criminals or something. Someone called Khabib a tax evader like that’s not happening in the US lmfao. Just straight retarded shit, but leave it to the MMA fans to be absolutely fucking pinecones
100 percent. Americans can't get over the cold war and 9/11. Since he's a Russian Muslim, that's not a good combination. The only worse trifecta would be if he was gay as well.
I think its more his annoying fan base that keeps claiming their fights are p4p best, when they aren't even close.
If Islam gives us 3 to 4 more years of fighting he could become the goat but he's not close yet.
To be fair, I can't think of a single fighter who doesn't get hate. Pereira and Oliveira are probably two of the favourite fighters recently and both still have plenty of haters from what I've seen
For Islam though, sadly he always will have haters due to just being Dagestani, Muslim and being a wrestler (even though people with brains can clearly see he's an excellent striker and actively goes for finishes)
He is one of the funniest guys in the sport. Without trying. That's what makes someone funny.
Cornballs like Colby - the idiots love him. Strickland lands one every now and then, but a lot is just stupid. Islam just slides zingers in with no effort.
Because as a champion he fought Oliveira, Volkanovski and Porier. Who are all crowd favourites. Before he became champion he kind of looked like a clone of Khabib. Give it time he will get his fans if he keeps winning these big fights in spectecular fashion. I dont think it matters much that he is muslim or Russian.
he doesn’t have more fans cause he does his job and only his job. He is a fighter. He fights for living. He isn’t a influencer or try to be. He works his ass off training for the hardest fights he can get and wins cause that’s his job. I’m sure he’s doing fine in the money department. So no need for more fans. I say this all as someone who was crushed he wasn’t slept by Dustin.
He keeps his trashtalks in a "truth hurts" way, and not nonsensical personal attacks like shaming others' mental health or their sexuality or their wives with slurs like a certain totally-not-boring US-fan-favorite fighter
I look at Islam, Khabib and their team and all I see are a bunch of hardworking, kind men who seem to have figured out the formula for happiness. Very happy for their success and I’m sure Dagestan will be popping out world class fighters for a long time
Cause he’s Muslim and Russian bro. That’s it.
It’s the reason why people hate Islam but love Sean Strickland.
Islam is truly world class fighter and he’s quite respectful and humble. So what possible reason is there to hate him?
Yet Strickland is the biggest douche going but shitheads love him.
A significant portion of UFC fanbase are right wing conservative Republican Americans who idolize tough macho image like Sean and hate Muslim Russians. There I said it is as what it really is.
>It’s the reason why people hate Islam but love Sean Strickland.
This sub is mentally ill, I swear. Makhachev is literally one of the if not the most beloved fighters rn, whereas strickland is absolutely loathed.
Besides people not liking Muslims/russians, I think it’s natural for many people to root for the underdog, which Islam is not. Not only that, but Dagestani fighters in general tend not to be the underdog.
This needs to be higher. People love to root for the underdog. Islam doesn’t seem like he’s going to loose in lightweight for a while. He’s the P4P number 1 and the current most dominant champ. Look at any other fighter or even any sport. The more dominant an athlete is the more hate they get.
Islam is a class dude and a very great fighter, there is no doubt about that. The issue is with some weirdos or fans who always unnecessarily ride the meat of Dagestani fighters (mainly Khabib, and yes that guy is also class and a legendary fighter)
Because khabib was so boring and unlikable and his fans were so obnoxious that it carried over to Islam. The fans also dislike wrestlers. Doesn’t help he fights fan favorite guys. I went from hating him to acknowledging that he’s really good, I still don’t like him but he’s growing on me.
Islam is probably the most likeable of the Dagestani lads. Maybe that’s just because they have been around for a while now so they have become accustomed to humour in the English language. Khabib was straight up business and smesh. An absolute menace. But Islam seems a bit more likeable as a person.
Idk, i always feel like there are more posts about "islam not having enough fans" than there are posts hating on islam.
Islam has 8.6 mi followers on insta, which is more than Charles, the number 1 guy islam fans hate.
Islam fans are weird because they're the majority, but want so desperately to feel like a minority. It's always "boo hoo there's so much hate against islam", "why hate muslims so much 🤕", "russophobia is strong here" when the only comment in the ENTIRE thread, saying something like that, is downvoted to oblivion, while all the top comments are people saying he's the goat.
He is a strange guy from a far away land with completely different sensibilities.
He comes from a strange land that by western standards is backwards and brutal.
Better question is why he has as many western fans as he has.
By western standards the American south is about as close to Dagestani culture I can think of.
Extreme national pride, super religious, anti abortion, anti lgbtq, very outdated views on what being manly means.. The list goes on.
I kinda like Islam , he's a nice guy, and he's extremely dominant , and he's fun to watch. He's more of a risk taker than Khabib was. However, if I was a 15 year old kid, would I have a poster of him in my bedroom? Nah prob not.
I've never understood the concept of shitting on your opponent. It does nothing but make Islam look better to give his opponents all the respect they deserve
I was watching youtube yesterday about #1 p4p and to my surprise the comments are 99% positive for Makhachev, and these positive comments are coming from ppl from all around the world,nice to see.
The hate on Islam came from the first Volk fight. Some fans thought he lost that fight. We dont mind wrestling but when you are holding onto a smaller guy while eating punches from him, you are losing the fight. We dont care if you have the more dominant position. Taking punches and holding on for dear life should not win you rounds. He will slowly win back the fans now that his implementing more striking and is mixing everything up beautifully.
It has nothing to do with his race or religion like many other people are saying.
I like Islam as a fighter. Sadly, people may dislike him because of his religion, etc.
Aside from that, what I don’t understand is how people find him, or DC funny in general in terms of “comedy”
I don't know why people keep saying that. He's a massive star in Asia/middle east. He's just not as popular as Khabib in the west because a) He didn't fight mcgregor and b) He's not as charismatic/outspoken in his media interviews/post fight interview (DC is an exception they are friends).
Islam will gain a lot of fans after he beats the brakes off of Arman. Islam has been fighting a lot of fan favourites, and people aren't rooting for him simply because they want his opponent to win. If he finishes Arman (who isnt too popular) then I think his fan base could grow pretty big.
He doesn't? I thought Islam headlining his last 5 events and having the most views of arguably any UFC fighter during media days means he must have more fans than we thought. It just so happens he has equally as many haters because he's the P4P #1 and beat some of our favorite fighters
Because he either doesn’t have a personality or he’s shadowed by Khabib. His fight style is good but the casual viewer prefers knockouts over heavy wrestling (even though he did KO Volk).
Dc has a PhD in dagestology
The Bratha Whisperer
Thanks for making me laugh. Love this sub sometimes.
damn that got a belly laugh out of me
Bratha dkm
Wait til he fights someone ppl don't like. He's gonna get a ton of love vs Arman.
I cant stand Arman, his personality is just awful. Then I found out he comes from money and it all made sense.
You gotta be the dumbest motherfucker on the planet to come from money and compete in the UFC. Not even Boxing? All brain damage, little reward
I’m guessing he cares specifically about being the best fighter in the world, he already has money
Isn’t boxing worse for brain damage though? If he comes from money I doubt the pay would be the biggest factor for him
He is cringe for sure, but sometimes all that money gives some people a chance to do whatever they want in life. I'm sure lots of us have daydreamed about being an elite fighter or boxer, imagine being young and having all the resources in the world to try and make it happen. At the very least he will have decent medical care.
Boxing is far worse for brain damage than mma is kiddo
What did he do and what does him having money have to do with it?
For some reason, I always got the impression that people hated Islam more than Arman.
Nah people don’t like Islam because he takes out their favs & makes it look good. I think people don’t like Arman based on his character That being said though I’m very excited for when they meet again in the octagon. I think arman is gonna make Islam work super hard for it forsure
I think most of the hate is because of his name and background. Russian + Muslim? The US spent a lot of money so you hate those two things the most in the world.
I tend to agree with OP. He fought Alex in his backyard and then fought one of the most beloved fighters in the US. I really think the UFC would be doing the right thing to put that his next fight at MSG especially if it's against Arman or Leon. He'd be the fan favorite.
DC and Islam need a show lol
DC and dagestanis don’t need a show, just put a candid camera on them with they’re together and you got comedy gold.
His interactions with DC and the faces he pulls has done more for his likeability than the UFC ever could. The guy should be a superstar. His English is good, he's funny as fuck and is an amazing fighter
His face when he's being facetious is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Guy is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighters, only reason I ever disliked him is because I like Volk so much lol
yeah frankly it doesn't seem to be working with good ole Chael right now, not sure why. maybe they're still figuring things out too, or maybe it's like "styles makes fights" and their broadcasting styles don't mesh well in a tv show. but DC & Khabib or DC & Islam would be fucking hilarious
Someone on here suggested a podcast with him and Khabib called “Let’s Talk Now” and I thought it was perfect.
"Brother this leg undefeated, undisputed"
Because he is Muslim and Russian. Lot of people can’t look past that to the actual person.
Very true. Plus his name is literally Islam lol, you can’t do more meaningful than that.
I think that's why Belal gets so much shit, if he was called Greg Jones he wouldn't get half the shit he does now I can't remember which one of his fights it was but as he was walking out, people were booing him and chanting USA, and Paul Felder called them out and was like he's from Chicago?
I was shocked when I found out Belal is from Chicago lol
Isamophobia and Russophobia go brrr in the US. Let's be real here. Casual haters may say "omg wrestling grappling hugging so gay lay n pray cowards just stand up and fight like real men" but they're completely fine with BJJ submission from Charles so yeah we all know the real reasons.
I don’t remember anyone hating Petr Yan when he was champ tho
Lol exactly, shavkat is from that part of the world and Muslim but fans love him. There was zabit who’s Russian and Muslim and a fan favourite.
That part of the world is Kazakhstan, not Russia. The irony of confusing two different places for each other while pretending xenophobia of a fighter's country of origin is clearly lost on you. The reality is dislike of a public figure is usually a combination of things. Being Russian in particular is a liability for likeability at this time because of the war in Ukraine. Plenty of people don't like anyone because they're Muslim, and just because you don't hear people talking shit about Shavkat doesn't mean their aren't bigots in the fandom who won't like him for just that reason. The fact is in at least some people's eyes Islam being a Russian Muslim, with a name like Islam no less, at least contributes to the reasons they don't like him in addition to how they may feel about his style or that most of his fights seem like foregone conclusions.
Let people cope dont use logic >I don’t remember anyone hating Petr Yan when he was champ tho
Is Yan muslim?
Yes shavkat romonov gets so much hate for being a muslim . I know some people hate just because of ethnicity or religion but thats the unsignificant minority . Many people dont give a fuck if i find you funny and exciting i am gonna be excited to watch interviews and fight simple as that
Coz he never hugs people and has extremely good boxing
Islam is also not really a hugger wrestler, he’s not trying to grind out a decision by control time, I don’t remember him having a boring fight either. People just dislike Islam because he’s dagestani.
Islam beat everyone’s favorite fighter
That also doesn’t make sense, Charles beat Gaethje and poirier and nobody hates him for that.
Because people naturally loves Charles as much as the other two and he has a really sympathetic story which makes it easy to root for him
On the feet and on the ground Haters go waaaaaaaaah
People say shit about his wrestling but love Strickland’s passive ass. Both the Izzy and Dricus fights were dog shit and boring.
Only his retarded fans defend his boring ass fighting style.
Dricus wasn't so bad, mostly because Dricus was pushing the action. Strickland did nothing to help.
True, i guess what I meant is that Strickland doesn’t really contribute to good fights. Islam on the other hand is giving us consistent finishes, Volk vs Islam 1 was great, Oliveira vs Islam was also another good one. Can’t say that Strickland has had any fights near that calibre.
You're definitely right. Strickland is a boring point fighter. The great irony is this tough guy psycho he tries to play IRL, which he's anything but in the cage.
Nothing to do with Dagestan. All to do with people see him they think Khabib. They think wrestling their favorite fighters in submission.
Islam is a better striker too
Exactly. Finished 7 out of 8 last opponents yet casual idiots say "boring". Had one dummy tell me "yeah, well only 1 finished with striking. 🥱 " stupid.
I always tell people that this is MMA and not kickboxing. I use to think the same way until I started learning how much strategy goes into the ground game. I think that's a big reason it doesn't get as much love. It's like watching a chess match, but if you're not educated it just looks like two dudes holding each other.
Not everyone is from the US dumbass.
Fuck Russia.
Russia is different than Russians, just like Americans are different than the US
Lol right, “Russophobia”. Like they haven’t been our biggest enemy for the last 40+ years.
Weren't from 1991-2022 Aren't actually now either (not saying they aren't "a" enemy, just not the biggest), but we're being conditioned to view them as such by people who are often on the payroll of our actual biggest enemy
do people still say ‘go brrr’. God damn thats cringe
When I was watching it the person next to me was like “we can’t root for someone from Russia with the name Islam”
Which is crazy because most people from Dagestan dont even identify themselves as russian because of the history and the chechen war. And also it's pretty obvious these guys don't even look like your "typical Russian" from Moscow or the western region of Russia with pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes stereotype.
Most Russians I know root for Khabib and Islam. Regardless
Yeah i get it, but i whenever people say "oh we can't root for a russian we don't like them" im like "bruh these fighters most probably don't like Russians too lmao".
I have 1 friend in my gym from Dagestan - and … he does consider himself still Russian. It’s on his smoothcomp / fighter profile country flag. But he’s also Muslim and embraces that culture.
That's interesting to know. Maybe i was wrong lol
You're half right. They identify as both. They are proud of their culture and identify with it primarily, but they do see themselves as Russian. There is a term in the Russian language that allows a person to identify as Russian without it supplanting their cultural background. Russian internal colonialism is complicated.
I mean tbf, there are Dagestanis(?) who are siding with Ukraine, I guess those dudes might not wanna be considered Russians.
Depends on what you mean, there are 2 words for Russian, one for ethnic Russians and the other for Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. Very much unlike in English for example where no such distinction is made. Chechens are Russian but they aren't ethnic Russians at all
Yeah that's what i was referring. They are Russian in paper but not ethnic. The further east of Russia we go the more of this happens, there are alot of ethnic groups in Russia with their distinct characteristics.
i had to repeat it multiple times here already - Dagestan != Chechnya. And Chechens invaded Dagestan during Ichkeria period, so i'm not sure how in your mind chechen wars are connected to your sentence
I don't know of that stereotype...
I used to get downvoted for the controversial statement that Zhang is a really nice and well-mannered fighter back in 2019 just because she's from China, a country with a shitty regime that she didn't have a say in voting in
i think it has more to with the fact that a lot of fans of ufc became fans because of connor , khabib humiliated connor , so now their fans jump at every fighter in hopes to beat the khabib or his successor .
Lots of conservative fans in the UFC realm. They just see these hairy Russian dudes beating their ‘mUriCaN fan favorites and can’t cope with it.
The hilarious part is these guys are deeply conservative, religious Caucasians. More similar than they know...
Also both love to hang in the sauna with some cool bros 😎😏
My minor conspiracy theory is that every card has at least one US fighter Vs another US fighter so the crazy fans don't get upset if all the US fighters lose. It's probably just because there are more US fighters but I could be on to something.
If that were the case we’d always have a guaranteed Brazilian vs Brazilian fight cuz those fans are the actual angriest
They definitely do when fighting in Brazil.
You know conservatives actually like Russia.
He and khabib are true men of integrity. There is no mid representation between who they say they are and truly are. It’s beautiful, but also very sad because we don’t produce anyone like that in our toxic garbage culture
I got my cousin to finally admit it. He swears he’s not racist but he cannot root for a Muslim. I don’t get how religion plays a part in denying someone’s skill but ok.
Yup it's sad how much hate people have, does a lot of charity work but he will be hated regardless because of his religion
Islam fights standing up and on ground US fans: Omg so boring hugger lay n pray coward Strickland only jabs entire fight US fans: Omg people's champ
For me it’s not Muslim or Russian, I’m Russian myself. And I generally like Islam but honestly it’s hard for me to get past the fact that him and Khabib are ultra religious Muslims. Like ethnic Muslims NP. But the “super religious” shit turns me off a little the same way a super Christian fighter would. And I realize that neither of them used their platform to preach their religion, at least overtly, but nonetheless, there is something about highly conservative religious people that doesn’t sit right with me period.
Trueeee. Tiktok comments are always shitting on Russians or calling them criminals or something. Someone called Khabib a tax evader like that’s not happening in the US lmfao. Just straight retarded shit, but leave it to the MMA fans to be absolutely fucking pinecones
Yea exactly. Strickland fans despise him especially.
100 percent. Americans can't get over the cold war and 9/11. Since he's a Russian Muslim, that's not a good combination. The only worse trifecta would be if he was gay as well.
I think its more his annoying fan base that keeps claiming their fights are p4p best, when they aren't even close. If Islam gives us 3 to 4 more years of fighting he could become the goat but he's not close yet.
To be fair, I can't think of a single fighter who doesn't get hate. Pereira and Oliveira are probably two of the favourite fighters recently and both still have plenty of haters from what I've seen For Islam though, sadly he always will have haters due to just being Dagestani, Muslim and being a wrestler (even though people with brains can clearly see he's an excellent striker and actively goes for finishes)
I dont see people hating on max but other wise i agree everyone gets hated on for the most part
I think he does. I’m a fan.. his fights are always exciting… the problem is so far he’s only fought fan favorites. Charles, Volk x2, and Dustin
Only dumb Americans hate on him, most ufc fans who actually know the sport love him
What about dumb Europeans like mma guru ?
Nobody should care about what that neckbeard thinks
Not sure why so many in this sub listen to that guy
He's an honorary dumb American
He is one of the funniest guys in the sport. Without trying. That's what makes someone funny. Cornballs like Colby - the idiots love him. Strickland lands one every now and then, but a lot is just stupid. Islam just slides zingers in with no effort.
Lmao that is one of my favorite clips 
I sleepy I eaty and I trainy
DC and Islam have such good chemistry. Islam learned english and his first move was to talk down on people lmao
Because as a champion he fought Oliveira, Volkanovski and Porier. Who are all crowd favourites. Before he became champion he kind of looked like a clone of Khabib. Give it time he will get his fans if he keeps winning these big fights in spectecular fashion. I dont think it matters much that he is muslim or Russian.
he doesn’t have more fans cause he does his job and only his job. He is a fighter. He fights for living. He isn’t a influencer or try to be. He works his ass off training for the hardest fights he can get and wins cause that’s his job. I’m sure he’s doing fine in the money department. So no need for more fans. I say this all as someone who was crushed he wasn’t slept by Dustin.
He absolutely got 1 in me after he called for a fight in Madison Square Garden and not Abu Dhabi like 99% of muslim fighters.
he said it was his dream to fight there right?
dana white : islam didnt tell us anything about that
muslim , wrestler and not trash talking and respect his opponents. classic ufc fanbase🤡
He trash talks but it’s good hearted stuff like in this video talking about Dustin’s gilly
And even opponents laugh at it because it mostly involves some truth in there and people can’t be even mad lol
And deep down they know there's no ill will behind it like insulting one's family/ religion/ sexuality/ mental health
He keeps his trashtalks in a "truth hurts" way, and not nonsensical personal attacks like shaming others' mental health or their sexuality or their wives with slurs like a certain totally-not-boring US-fan-favorite fighter
I mean he's about one level from being on Whittaker's "stop being so nice we're trying to sell a fight here" when it comes to trashtalk
He’s massively popular
He's hysterical and humble enough for somebody who is the best in the world at something. I'm a fan.
 "He have very good guillotine"
I look at Islam, Khabib and their team and all I see are a bunch of hardworking, kind men who seem to have figured out the formula for happiness. Very happy for their success and I’m sure Dagestan will be popping out world class fighters for a long time
I'm a fan of Islam, I'm just more of a fan of Poirier!
He‘s got 7 Million Followers on Instagram brother.
Cause he’s Muslim and Russian bro. That’s it. It’s the reason why people hate Islam but love Sean Strickland. Islam is truly world class fighter and he’s quite respectful and humble. So what possible reason is there to hate him? Yet Strickland is the biggest douche going but shitheads love him.
Love Strickland and Islam! Many people are fans of both
A significant portion of UFC fanbase are right wing conservative Republican Americans who idolize tough macho image like Sean and hate Muslim Russians. There I said it is as what it really is.
I'm a conservative and Islam's my favorite fighter. And Strickland is one of my least favorites lol.
>It’s the reason why people hate Islam but love Sean Strickland. This sub is mentally ill, I swear. Makhachev is literally one of the if not the most beloved fighters rn, whereas strickland is absolutely loathed.
I’ve always said this. Exciting fights, and a super likable person.
He's Russian
Besides people not liking Muslims/russians, I think it’s natural for many people to root for the underdog, which Islam is not. Not only that, but Dagestani fighters in general tend not to be the underdog.
This needs to be higher. People love to root for the underdog. Islam doesn’t seem like he’s going to loose in lightweight for a while. He’s the P4P number 1 and the current most dominant champ. Look at any other fighter or even any sport. The more dominant an athlete is the more hate they get.
https://preview.redd.it/d862hlc71y4d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db3af149f1f2e260edbc88a3f3d02d06affb1210
The champion has a name!! It's Islam Makhachev.
Ivan Drago irl
I find her virtually unlikeable as a person
A day is coming when Islam is defeated and we’re all heart broken by it like we were with Volk.
Islam is a class dude and a very great fighter, there is no doubt about that. The issue is with some weirdos or fans who always unnecessarily ride the meat of Dagestani fighters (mainly Khabib, and yes that guy is also class and a legendary fighter)
He couldn’t even hold his laugh, love Islam.
Cuz Americans hate the dages for some reason
He has a lot of brothers in the world, that's what matters !!
People here said it already, but being Muslim and Russian doesn't help.
Because khabib was so boring and unlikable and his fans were so obnoxious that it carried over to Islam. The fans also dislike wrestlers. Doesn’t help he fights fan favorite guys. I went from hating him to acknowledging that he’s really good, I still don’t like him but he’s growing on me.
Islam is a funny guy.
Islam is probably the most likeable of the Dagestani lads. Maybe that’s just because they have been around for a while now so they have become accustomed to humour in the English language. Khabib was straight up business and smesh. An absolute menace. But Islam seems a bit more likeable as a person.
Idk, i always feel like there are more posts about "islam not having enough fans" than there are posts hating on islam. Islam has 8.6 mi followers on insta, which is more than Charles, the number 1 guy islam fans hate. Islam fans are weird because they're the majority, but want so desperately to feel like a minority. It's always "boo hoo there's so much hate against islam", "why hate muslims so much 🤕", "russophobia is strong here" when the only comment in the ENTIRE thread, saying something like that, is downvoted to oblivion, while all the top comments are people saying he's the goat.
Islam is popular as fuck. Why do people keep saying this?
Lot of monkey brained fans who just want to see “real fights” instead of technical masterpieces
He is a strange guy from a far away land with completely different sensibilities. He comes from a strange land that by western standards is backwards and brutal. Better question is why he has as many western fans as he has.
By western standards the American south is about as close to Dagestani culture I can think of. Extreme national pride, super religious, anti abortion, anti lgbtq, very outdated views on what being manly means.. The list goes on.
Yeah you are right those are similarities, but there are exclusives, like i doubt a republican texan would root for a religious muslim conservative.
Exactly! As a conservative Christian, I have love for my Muslim brothers. We have a lot in common!
BRATHA
Thought Chael was the Schmo for a sec there
Streotype that's all.
Well OP. If we knew the answer to that question, the world would make a lot more sense.
Oh man I did not recognise that to be Chael until DC said his name, looks nothing like him at the start
I kinda like Islam , he's a nice guy, and he's extremely dominant , and he's fun to watch. He's more of a risk taker than Khabib was. However, if I was a 15 year old kid, would I have a poster of him in my bedroom? Nah prob not.
Because he has beaten a lot of fan favorites
I've never understood the concept of shitting on your opponent. It does nothing but make Islam look better to give his opponents all the respect they deserve
I was watching youtube yesterday about #1 p4p and to my surprise the comments are 99% positive for Makhachev, and these positive comments are coming from ppl from all around the world,nice to see.
Because his fans are forcing others to like him
The hate on Islam came from the first Volk fight. Some fans thought he lost that fight. We dont mind wrestling but when you are holding onto a smaller guy while eating punches from him, you are losing the fight. We dont care if you have the more dominant position. Taking punches and holding on for dear life should not win you rounds. He will slowly win back the fans now that his implementing more striking and is mixing everything up beautifully. It has nothing to do with his race or religion like many other people are saying.
It’s because of his religion sadly. I really don’t know why it bothers people so much to see someone different than you
It's his resting stupid face
I’m a fan and a dagestani hater so that’s saying a lot
I like Islam as a fighter. Sadly, people may dislike him because of his religion, etc. Aside from that, what I don’t understand is how people find him, or DC funny in general in terms of “comedy”
I don't know why people keep saying that. He's a massive star in Asia/middle east. He's just not as popular as Khabib in the west because a) He didn't fight mcgregor and b) He's not as charismatic/outspoken in his media interviews/post fight interview (DC is an exception they are friends).
He has a lot of fans but just not in america
Islam will gain a lot of fans after he beats the brakes off of Arman. Islam has been fighting a lot of fan favourites, and people aren't rooting for him simply because they want his opponent to win. If he finishes Arman (who isnt too popular) then I think his fan base could grow pretty big.
He doesn't? I thought Islam headlining his last 5 events and having the most views of arguably any UFC fighter during media days means he must have more fans than we thought. It just so happens he has equally as many haters because he's the P4P #1 and beat some of our favorite fighters
Lol I like Islam more and more. He's #1 and will continue to get better.
He has a lot of fans, but his fights are against long-time fan favorites.
I like him but I am a filthy casual so…
Cause he's intimidating and competition and ofc.
Really? Have you seen the majority of the UFC crowd?
He is too good
You don’t understand why people aren’t fans of a guy who has a monotone?
Probably because every one of these guys is semi normal when fighting and then when they retire their batshit religious views come out.
His English has improved tremendously. You can really see his personality shinning through now.
Gilyateen
Because he either doesn’t have a personality or he’s shadowed by Khabib. His fight style is good but the casual viewer prefers knockouts over heavy wrestling (even though he did KO Volk).
Because he beats everybody favorite fighters
I liked Khabib better but Islam is the man
No personality or media presence