The Only Loss on Makhachev's UFC Record
Islam Makhachev defends his welterweight title at UFC 330, but his sole UFC defeat in 2015 to Adriano Martins remains the biggest blemish on his career.
Islam Makhachev defends his welterweight title at UFC 330, but his sole UFC defeat in 2015 to Adriano Martins remains the biggest blemish on his career.
Islam Makhachev, the current UFC welterweight champion, will face his first title defense against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. However, as he prepares for another historic moment, his only UFC loss, against Adriano Martins in 2015, remains the sole stain on an otherwise impressive career.
Makhachev made his UFC debut in 2015 with a win over Leo Kuntz, and at the time, he was known as Khabib Nurmagomedov's teammate. He was 23 years old. His second appearance in the organization, at UFC 192, brought his first and only loss. Martins, a Brazilian grappling specialist, knocked him out with a right counter punch.
The fight took place on the undercard of the Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson bout. Martins had four UFC fights under his belt at that point, with his only prior loss coming to Donald Cerrone. For Makhachev, it was a brutal shock, but also a turning point that defined his later rise.
After defeating Makhachev, Martins' career took a downward turn. He was out of action for over a year, then lost a split decision to Leonardo Santos at UFC 204 in Manchester, England. A year later, at UFC 215, he was knocked out by Kajan Johnson in the third round, after which he was released from the UFC.
His post-UFC journey included a loss in 2018 in Russia to Alexander Shabily, followed by three winless fights in Brazil, dropping his record to 28 wins and 11 losses. He then took a three-year hiatus from competition to focus on training and life in Brazil.
In March 2024, he returned against Donovan Desmae and lost by decision, but the result was overturned due to a scoring error. That still didn't give him the win. He later went back to Russia and lost by decision to Alexander Sarnavski, a veteran with 53 fights. Martins hasn't officially announced his retirement, but he has slowed down his competition schedule.
While Martins was racking up losses after their encounter, Makhachev was building one of the most dominant careers in UFC history. According to reports, he set the record for the most title defenses in lightweight history, and now he moves up to welterweight. A win over Machado Garry at UFC 330 would allow him to surpass Anderson Silva and achieve the longest winning streak in UFC history, as stated in the report.
UFC 330 takes place on Saturday, and Makhachev will defend the welterweight title for the first time. Eleven years after the loss to Martins, Makhachev stands on the brink of writing a new chapter in a career that has long since outgrown that early setback.
