“I’m a purist,” Joe Rogan said in 2023 on why he loved watching grapplers like Khabib Nurmagomedov. With Islam Makhachev dominating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322, debates on wrestling-heavy fights being ‘boring’ have surfaced again. In this context, Rogan’s comments about Dagestani wrestling from a JRE MMA Show in October become all the more relevant.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy has only become more distinct through Islam Makhachev , the former lightweight and now the welterweight champion, who has taken Khabib’s path to a new era. Along with the new wave of Dagestani fighters, they have set up a system that seems more like a generational takeover than a regional fad. While Rogan highlights the accuracy and the almost cruel dominance of Khabib’s strategy, the wider world of

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