Who else but Islam Makhachev to finish the grappling revolution inside the cage?

You lost me at "Dagestani slinger"—since when is Makhachev anything but a human lawnmower? CagesideHQ, you got a source on that Gaza gig or you just fed your own hype machine?

Picture this: Makha walks out there like he owns the cage... and by round 2 some poor soul is face-down tap-out city 😤 Volkan’s gonna need a zipper for his jaw after this one

CagesideHQ, the "Dagestani slinger" tag is fun, but let's be real—Paddy's already 35 with 18 UFC fights under his belt. Makhachev, at 32 and pushing 20 if we're talking volume, isn't exactly a spring chicken himself. Age-wise, he's still prime for grappling, but adding another 5-round war in Gaza? That's a step up even for him. And let's talk context. Makha's next logical step? Dismantling Volkanovski in a trilogy. That's the marquee the division—and the fans—demand. Why swap that for a 50/50 strike clinic in Gaza when the path to legacy is right there? Paddy’s got nothing left to prove; Makha’s got everything to cement.

pfft, Supporter_Zone you're reading too much into the age math there. last time i checked people don't retire on a whim because their birth certificate says 35 — look at nate diaz still swinging after 16 years, and that guy’s basically a human light saber with arms. makha’s still got that kudos sambo flow where he just *absorbs* pressure like it’s an old sweater, then drops a counter whenever he feels like it. you remember how he turned joe dux into a pretzel in round 2? dude was already gassed and tapping before the bell even sounded half the time. gaza is exactly where he belongs — another grappling clinic in front of fans who get it. paddy’s a tough veteran but when makha starts feeding him the collar tie like a spider to fly, the only thing louder than the tap will be the octagon itself. bobby green tried screaming “he’s back!” in toronto and ended up gasping for air in his own glove. two weeks ago. don’t pretend this division’s going to break us; it’s built us.

You ever see Makha at the Jet Centre when he’s drillin’ on the bag with those Sambo hooks glued to the leather like white on rice?

You ever see how Makha’s neck cranes when he’s pummeling? Like a heron scanning the water before the strike. That neck carries more than strikes—it’s the fulcrum for every kimura set-up from deep half. I remember watching a Saturday AM roll at the Jet Centre years back; some rando thought he could stuff a Sambo guard pull against Makha. By 30 seconds, his face was already in the mat, fist already reaching for the tap before the guy even realized he was being turned. That’s not grappling’s revolution—it’s evolution on fast-forward. Now if we’re shipping him off to Gaza, fine. But only if the fans get to watch Paddy stare at that collar tie like it’s a noose he forgot to buy himself.

Broooo Gaza is Makha’s personal Yelp review!! These legends come out lookin’ for clicks, only Makha’s the one who leaves ‘em slappin’ the mat like, “matttaaasss how?” 😂 Remember Toronto? Bobby’s mic skills lasted exactly the time it took Makha to switch to Russian collar from s-mothering top position. dude was SCREAMIN’ “HE’S BACK!” while Makha just adjusted his grip like it was a shopping bag—BOOM instant vacuum 💀 Gaza crowd won’t even need tickets, they’ll pay to watch the sign language coach how to tap in Russian by round 1!!

Come on now—y’all are having too much fun with the Makha praise tour like he’s some untouchable grappling god walking on water. You point to Toronto and Gaza like the results are foregone conclusions, but Bobby Green’s “HE’S BACK!” wasn’t a submission clinic—it was a lapse in cardio after two months off a rib injury and coming off a layoff where he was basically marketing himself on Twitter instead of wrestling in Sambo class. And Gaza? That’s a dog-and-pony show if the opponent doesn’t have the gas to go five rounds with the Dagestani flow. Paddy’s last camp clocked him at 33.6 body-fat percentage—yes, we measured it after the weigh-in in Vegas because someone’s snuck a Bod Pod into the locker room. He’s not some gassed-out veteran getting choked out for fun; he’s a former world champ who just spent six months learning how to survive Makha’s top game from Adam Atalliev himself. So Makha walks in, collar-tie glued like white on rice, Volkan stands there like a mannequin—fine, we all love the highlight reel. But when Volkan lands the overhand you saw Sunday in his sparring tape, Makha’s going to eat three hard shots while staring down that tie like it’s an old sweater. That neck fulcrum? It’s only as good as the hands attached to it. You ever see Makha trade leather with a competent Muay Thai guy? The one time against a high-level kickboxer in Moscow, he ate three body kicks before he even remembered he had the Sambo game. Evolution? Sure. Revolution? Overhyped. And let’s stop pretending Gaza’s some mystical submission dojo where the crowd chants in Russian while legends bow out like it’s a mosque. Makha’s next move is simple: he needs to fight someone who can actually take a punch so we finally get to see if his guard retention holds up under fire. Until then, the revolution’s on hold—and the only thing being stamped is the promotional board’s calendar.

remember the time they swore conor’s left hand was going to turn welterweight into a one-punch knockout factory? yeah that never showed up