Islam Makhachev told what he must do to surpass Jon Jones as the UFC GOAT

Michael Bisping thinks a UFC welterweight reign can make Islam Makhachev the GOAT

Jon Jones has long been considered the leading name in the debate surrounding who is the greatest of all time in the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole.

But a couple of top stars seem to be on his tail, and that includes Makhachev in the eyes of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

Bisping recently highlighted some of the Dagestani’s top wins and suggested that a victory over Della Maddalena at UFC 322, followed by a few successful welterweight title defenses, would put Makhachev in line to unseat Jones.

“I’m looking at his record and you’re seeing (Renato) Moicano, Dustin Poirier, (Alexander) Volkanovski twice in a row, Charles Oliveira…Dan Hooker…Arman Tsarukyan,” Bisping said during an appearance on The Bohnfire podcast with Mike Bohn.

“So yeah, listen, if he gets the job done (at UFC 322), I think without question he deserves to be in that (GOAT) conversation.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” he added, when Bohn suggested that a string of title defenses could see Makhachev become No. 1.

“If he can beat Jack — and again, it’s a big if — and go on a run and defend it two or three times, it’s insane.”

Ilia Topuria could also surpass Jon Jones in the UFC GOAT race

Makhachev is not the only name being thrown around as a contender to usurp the former heavyweight and light heavyweight king in the future.

UFC veteran Matt Brown suggested that Topuria could surpass Jones to become the GOAT after the Spaniard knocked out Charles Oliveira during International Fight Week to succeed Makhachev on the lightweight throne.

“The guy’s right on the verge,” Brown said of Topuria’s GOAT credentials on The Fighter vs The Writer for MMA Fighting.

“I looked through some of Jones’ résumé, and I was comparing some of the three-fight runs that he went on,” he continued. “He went on an undefeated run, but I’m not sure you compare them to this with Ilia.

“Maybe hindsight is 20/20, but I don’t know it’s as good as this run that Ilia is on.”