Islam Makhachev has done pretty well for himself in the UFC lightweight division.

It historically hasn’t been easy to become and maintain the position of champion at 155 pounds. Although he’s only been the ruler of the roost since October 2022, Makhachev has wasted no time entering rarified air as he’s on the cusp of making history with one more title defense added to his resume. A win in his next time out would be a record-fourth consecutive lightweight championship defense.

Makhachev, 32, most recently tied the record held by his mentor and former teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov, and legends B.J. Penn and Benson Henderson, when he defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 last month. The performance was majorly business as usual for the champ, who submitted “The Diamond” via a fifth-round d’arce choke. However, criticism still found its way to Makhachev and his former teammate and former UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes it’s a comparison issue.

“I thought he did good, man,” Cormier told Xtra MMA. “Look, one of the things about Islam is you become a victim of expectation, right? He got a finish, but if he didn’t finish him, he would have won that fight at least four rounds to one. That’s a pretty dominant performance.

“Because he’s been so good for so long, people are like, ‘Oh, well, there were some moments where Dustin had moments,’ so they think that it was something different but Islam fought great.”

The matchup was touted as a possible retirement fight for Poirier, adding plenty of allure ahead of fight night. Poirier didn’t call it quits afterward and looks to try and rebound before all is said and done.

Poirier made for Makhachev’s first title defense against a “traditional” lightweight contender after two previous wins over former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. In Makhachev’s next fight, he’s expected to rematch an old foe, the surging young top contender Arman Tsarukyan.

Fights like the one with Poirier and the first Volkanovski clash have already been more competitive than anything seen in Khabib Nurmagomedov’s epic title reign before he retired in October 2020. Ultimately, it’s not fair to draw those parallels, says Cormier.

“He showed that he can strike with a very dangerous striker and he was able to get a finish when he needed [to],” Cormier said. “So, I thought he did well. I thought Dustin did well but I think he falls victim to expectation. He’s not Khabib.

“Khabib was just so outwardly dominant that you never saw him struggle. So, people think to expect the same thing from Islam and nobody’s Khabib.”