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MMA analyst Michael Chiesa has given his thoughts on Islam Makhachev’s position on MMA’s hypothetical Mount Rushmore.

Following his big win at UFC 330 over Ian Machado Garry, Islam Makhachev has been one of the big topics of conversation in the mixed martial arts world. Given that he has now won 17 fights in a row, a UFC record, many are calling for him to be in the greatest of all time conversation.

RELATED: Jon Jones expresses ‘confusion’ over Islam Makhachev GOAT talk following UFC 330

That isn’t a universal belief, of course, mainly because Makhachev has to compete with the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.

In a recent interview, though, Michael Chiesa made it clear that he believes Makhachev has earned a place on the ‘Mount Rushmore’ of MMA.

Chiesa picks Makhachev for MMA’s Mount Rushmore

“A lot of people would say it’s always going to be Georges,” Chiesa told MMA Junkie. “Now you can say he kind of superseded what Georges did. Georges went up to 185 and fought once. Now Islam, you see him, he went up to 170, and now he’s fought twice, and he doesn’t intend to go back down.

“I think you could say that he has surpassed Georges. We have to remember, too, I think we put a lot of stock into like, look who Georges fought. He fought Matt Hughes, he fought Johny Hendricks and things like that for us that have been ingrained in this sport for so many years. … I’ll take flack for saying this: I think he surpassed Georges.”

“I think, for me, the best of all time is, if I had a Mount Rushmore, it would be Demetrious Johnson, Islam Makhachev, Georges St-Pierre, and like I said, you’ve got to be a champion in and out of the octagon,” Chiesa continued. “I’m throwing Daniel Cormier in there. I’ll take heat for it.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

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