Olympic wrestling champion Razambek Zhamalov was captured training with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. The video shows Zhamalov working on defending against Makhachev's takedown attempts. This training session highlights the high-level wrestling partnerships often utilized by Dagestani fighters to sharpen their skills. Makhachev regularly trains with elite wrestlers to maintain his grappling dominance. The post provides a brief glimpse into the training camp environment but offers limited additional details about the session's context or duration.
A video circulating online shows UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev working takedown defense drills alongside Olympic wrestling champion Razambek Zhamalov, offering a glimpse into the high-level training environment that has long defined Dagestani combat sports preparation.
Makhachev, 34, enters the session as one of the sport's most dominant champions, holding a 28-1 record and the top pound-for-pound ranking in the UFC. The Russian southpaw from Eagles MMA stands five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach and has built his championship pedigree on suffocating grappling, averaging 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes alongside 1.1 submission attempts in the same span. His striking has also evolved considerably, with a 58 percent accuracy rate and 2.63 significant strikes landed per minute. Pairing that well-rounded skillset with elite wrestling partners is a deliberate part of how Makhachev continues to sharpen his craft between fights.
Zhamalov brings Olympic-level wrestling credentials to the mat, giving Makhachev a credible test when drilling takedown defense. The footage, while brief, illustrates the caliber of training partners the Dagestani camp routinely sources to push its fighters beyond what conventional MMA sparring can offer.
Why it matters
- Makhachev training takedown defense against an Olympic-level wrestler signals ongoing attention to potential vulnerabilities at the highest level of competition
- The session reinforces the Dagestani model of integrating world-class wrestlers into MMA training camps rather than relying solely on in-house partners
- Elite wrestling exposure helps Makhachev simulate the kind of scrambles and pressure he could face from the division's top contenders
