“Islam is tough, it is really strong, physically very strong, one step ahead of everyone in the fight,” Ataman said in an interview with the Captain Hardcore channel. “If you went into the fight, he will be one step ahead of you, most likely, but I saw a lot of holes in his stance. There are a lot of minuses in the stance, especially when he attacks. Now all of Dagestan will be offended by me, but when he attacks, he is very open, and it is very possible to hit him. Everything else is just a plus.”
At the moment, Islam Makhachev is preparing for a superfight against Alexander Volkanovski, who will head the UFC 284 tournament in Perth on February 11, and Rafael Fiziev plans to share the octagon with the third division number Justin Gaethje in March.