UFC Hall of Fame member and former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre has shared his view on how current UFC lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev can be defeated.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the Canadian legend noted that Makhachev can be beaten through a smart and deceptive tactical approach.
"To beat Islam Makhachev, you need a fighter who can wrestle or control his takedown attempts. If Islam takes someone down, that fighter has to get back to his feet and control the distance in order to strike with him. I think you need someone who can apply a lot of pressure with deception," St-Pierre said.
St-Pierre also recalled a fighter who caused Makhachev significant problems early in his career.
"There was a guy who gave Makhachev a lot of trouble. He was from France and was my sparring partner for a while. His name was Mansour Barnaoui. When I was preparing for fights, he was one of my best sparring partners. Their fight happened early in Islam’s career. If you watch that bout, you will see that it could have ended very differently. The way Mansour fought Makhachev shows exactly how you need to compete in order to beat him," St-Pierre was quoted as saying by Sherdog.
