Dana White: Islam Makhachev's Record Might Never Be Broken

Pulse Sports Team 11:48 - 17 August 2026

UFC CEO Dana White believes he may never again have the opportunity to promote a fighter like Islam Makhachev.

According to the UFC boss, fans might be witnessing a truly unique talent in the welterweight champion. Makhachev (29-1), who won and defended the lightweight title four times, is now making history in the 170-pound division. He claimed the welterweight belt in November and last Saturday made his first successful defense, defeating Ian Machado Garry (17-2) in the main event of UFC 330.

Beyond becoming one of the few fighters to win UFC titles in two different weight classes, Makhachev also broke the record for the longest winning streak in the organization's history. He now boasts 17 consecutive victories, surpassing Anderson Silva's record of 16 straight wins, which stood for 13 years.

"If he continues as he says he will, this streak might never be broken, at least not in my lifetime," White told reporters at the UFC 330 post-fight press conference. "What he did is incredibly impressive. And again, my thoughts on Ian's performance tonight... you can flip the entire script and apply it to Islam to see how impressively he defeated a big, strong, tall fighter who was doing damn well. Islam did everything necessary to beat him. As I said, weight classes exist for a reason, and tonight's fight was a perfect example of that."

Makhachev has achieved so much in recent years that many are already discussing his place in the 'Greatest of All Time' rankings. The Dagestani fighter has only one loss in his career – a knockout to Adriano Martins in 2015.

White believes that defeat hurts Makhachev in the GOAT debate, but still places him among the sport's legends.

"Well, I don't know what your opinion is, I mean all of you, but if he didn't have that one loss on his record, there would be almost no debate," White said. "And this kid wants to fight constantly. He stays active, and after tonight and what he did, he's talking about three or four more fights. I think we just need to let his career unfold. It's similar to what I constantly say about 'Zuffa Boxing.' Judge us at the end of this year, in January 2027. When Islam's career starts to wind down, the more fights he wins and records he breaks, everything will speak for itself."