The man who knocked out Islam Makhachev didn't win again for nine years
01/15/2025 05:23 AM
One under-appreciated fact about Islam Makhachev is that he lost his second UFC fight.
Now 16 fights deep into his UFC career and defending his lightweight strap for a fourth time, Makhachev clawed his way back from adversity. 12-0 Makhachev debuted in the UFC with high-profile victories over future PFL–Bellator star Mansour Barnaoui and fighting veterans Ivica Truscek and Yuri Ivlev.
Immediately, it wasn’t clear that Makhachev would follow in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s footsteps since he tasted defeat by devastating knockout in just his second fight against then-27-7 Adriano Martins.
Adriano Martins handed Islam Makhachev is first professional defeat
Makhachev faced Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015. He entered the fight as a slight favorite, but Martins already had years of experience fighting top opposition, including Donald Cerrone, Francisco Trinaldo, and Rustam Khalibov.
This showed when Martins pulled off one of the best-aged victories in modern UFC. In the opening round, Makhachev kept smothering his straight left hand, stumbling towards Martins during the punch. The Brazilian quickly adapted by pivoting away and cutting angles.
Makhachev paid dearly for this mistake when he committed to another uneducated left hand. Martins dipped, slid backwards out of range, and launched a superb overhand right that bounced Makhachev’s head off the canvas. He landed some follow-up shots before the fight was called.
Adriano Martins didn’t win for almost a decade after knocking out Islam Makhachev
This remains the only blip on Makhachev’s otherwise perfect record, but it came at a cost for Martins, who didn’t win another fight for nine years. Martins dropped two more contests in the UFC, before going winless in Fight Nights Global, Shooto, Future FC, and Copa Norte de MMA – progressively smaller promotions.
He eventually picked up a split decision victory in 2024 as a short-notice replacement against Cage Warriors and KSW veteran Donovan Desmae at Kongs FC.
