Ben Askren Assesses If Any Lightweight Can Defeat Islam Makhachev: 'Is He Going To Do The Khabib & Not Stick Around?'

Former ONE and Bellator titleholder Ben Askren recently shared some interesting thoughts on UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. 

Makhachev is 25-1 in the Octagon, with his sole loss coming early in his UFC run opposite Adriano Martins at UFC 192. In more recent years, the Dagestani wrestler has solidified himself as arguably the deadliest combatant at 155 pounds.

Winning the gold in shockingly one-sided fashion opposite Charles OIiveira back at UFC 280, Makhachev has since picked up back-to-back wins over featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski. Now eying a potential move up to welterweight in the future, it appears the sky is the limit for Islam Makhachev right now. 

'Time's Undefeated' - Ben Askren On Makhachev's Future

In a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Ben Askren was asked if he sees anyone in the UFC lightweight division right now beating Makhachev. 'Funky' confirmed he does not.

However, he also pointed out that time eventually claims every fighter. Should Makhachev stick around long enough and not retire relatively young like his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov did, Askren can see him eventually coming undone. 

At 32, Makhachev is still relatively in his athletic prime. Regardless, Askren is confident that sticking around too long would lead to the Dagestani fighter's downfall. 

"I'll say no," Askren said. "Time's undefeated right? So at some point, if he sticks around, he will lose. But is he, you know, is he gonna do the Khabib and not stick around, right? He's only 32, you know, which is- it's getting towards the upper side, but probably not over the hill yet. So it'll be interesting to see if he is able to retire before he loses I guess, because if he does not retire, he will lose at some point."