“Makhachev is a strong fighter, unequivocally, but I haven’t watched his fights, I don’t follow him,” “Russian Knight” said in an interview with the channel “Ushataika”. “I was asked – I answered. What misunderstanding can there be here? I have never insulted anyone, I don’t have such a habit. He’s a strong fighter, but I just don’t follow him.”
“I don’t have any questions. If he has any, let him ask them. As a man, I don’t know him. As a fighter he is strong. I can’t say anything bad about him.”
In October of this year, Povetkin, in response to a question about UFC fighters, stated that he follows Alexander Volkov and Sergey Pavlovich, but not Islam Makhachev, as the latter is not a Russian fighter. Later, the Russian boxer said that his words were misinterpreted, but made it clear that he was not going to justify himself and did not pay attention to the criticism he had received.
As for Islam Makhachev, he, commenting on the statement of his compatriot, said that he has always been a fan of Povetkin, watched his fights, and even personally attended one match in Riyadh.
Recall that the Russian lightweight is not only the holder of the UFC championship belt, but also heads the rating of the best fighters of the organization regardless of weight category.