Speaker A
Okay. In this video, I want to address someone who made a comment in regards to my critique of Garry, Ian Machado Garry, and Islam Makhachev.
A Muslim martial artist critiques Islam Makhachev and discusses who he believes is the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Critiquing a fighter's skill is separate from religious identity or faith.
- Ian Machado Garry had a real chance against Islam Makhachev despite losing.
- Georges St-Pierre is considered the greatest MMA fighter due to his technique and fight intelligence.
- Islam Makhachev is highly skilled but could improve in expressing gratitude in line with Islamic tradition.
- Physical advantages can influence perceptions of greatness in MMA.
What the video covers
- The creator addresses accusations of hating on Islam Makhachev and clarifies his critique was purely about fighting, not faith.
- He explains his deep commitment to studying Islamic sciences, spending 70% of his time on theology, hadith, fiqh, and sirah.
- The video focuses on analyzing the fight between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry without bias from religious affiliation.
- He believes Ian Machado Garry had a legitimate chance against Islam Makhachev and critiques Garry's fight strategy.
- The creator emphasizes that his critique is based on fight analysis, not religious loyalty or personal bias.
- He expresses disappointment that Islam Makhachev does not say 'alhamdulillah' in interviews, unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov.
- The creator names Georges St-Pierre as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, citing technique and fight IQ.
- He acknowledges Demetrious Johnson and Anderson Silva as other top contenders but explains why he ranks GSP higher.
- He critiques Jon Jones for often having physical advantages over opponents, which he feels affects GOAT status.
- The video includes reflections on fight techniques, mindset, and the importance of humility in victory.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Addressing Criticism
- 01:14Clarifying Accusations of Bias
- 02:17Explaining Commitment to Islamic Sciences
- 03:25Details on Islamic Studies and Faith
- 04:23Focus on Fight Critique, Not Faith
- 05:10Analysis of Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry
- 05:50Potential Impact of Different Training
- 07:15Faith vs Fighter: Separating Identities
- 08:00Importance of Gratitude in Islam and MMA
- 08:52Who is the Greatest MMA Fighter?
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Now, it's only one person that said it. But the reason why I'm commenting here is essentially because there might be some other people who may have wondered.
Speaker A
Wondered what? Wondered why myself, as a Muslim, would think that a non-Muslim had a chance against Islam Makhachev, another Muslim.
Speaker A
Now, what this individual said was he said this. He said, "You have been hating on Islam Makhachev or hating on Islam for some time, and he keeps proving you wrong." Okay?
Speaker A
He accused me of hating on Islam Makhachev and says, you know, he keeps proving me wrong. I want to address him and address anyone who may think that there's something wrong with me saying that someone has a chance of beating Islam Makhachev.
Speaker A
I am a Muslim. That doesn't mean I'm Pakistani. It doesn't mean I'm Arab. What do I mean when I say I'm a Muslim? Let me be clear before I tell you who I think is the greatest MMA fighter of all time and why.
Speaker A
I said what I said when I thought that Ian Machado Garry had a good chance of beating Islam. Let me, let me first tell you this. Okay.
Speaker A
Seventy percent, seventy percent of my studying life, and I spend a great deal of time studying, seventy percent of my studied life of every day is spent studying the Islamic sciences.
Speaker A
What does that mean? Because most people don't know what it means. Even most people who call themselves Muslim don't know what it means. Let me explain what it means when I say I spend seventy percent of my life studying the Islamic sciences.
Speaker A
Aqidah, Islamic theology, which includes tawhid, tawhid al-rububiyyah, tawhid al-uluhiyyah, tawhid al-asma wa sifat, that he is one in creation, one in worship, and one in his 99 attributes.
Speaker A
Tafsir, the meaning of the Quran. Usul al-tafsir, how do you extract the meaning of the Quran? Of course, using first the Quran to explain itself, and then moving to hadith, and then moving down to ijma, the consensus of the salaf al-salih, the
Speaker A
righteous predecessors, the righteous companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. But what does it mean also when I say I spend seventy percent of my time studying Islamic sciences?
Speaker A
It means I study hadith. It means I study the chain of hadith, the isnad of hadith. It means I also study fiqh, Islamic law. Usul al-fiqh, how do we extract Islamic law?
Speaker A
Okay? It means that I study the sirah, the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, and usul al-sirah, the science of extracting meaning.
Speaker A
The science of using the sirah, the man, the Prophet Muhammad as a model in your everyday life. Seventy percent of my life is spent studying the Islamic sciences.
Speaker A
Eighty percent of Muslims do not study the Islamic sciences. They may fast Ramadan, they may pray five prayers a day, they may do all that, but they do not study the Islamic sciences, the fiqh of prayer, the fiqh of fasting, the fiqh of
Speaker A
marriage. Okay? The reality is this, no one asked me about Islam, my faith. They asked me to critique the fight between Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry.
Speaker A
That's what they asked, and that's what I did. That's what they asked, and that's what I did.
Speaker A
When someone asked me to critique a fight, I put my Islamic faith aside, even if the person I am critiquing is a Muslim. Okay?
Speaker A
Period. That's how it is. Now, if you look at what people are talking about when it comes down to Machado Garry, Machado Garry, what do you hear people saying now? The exact same thing that I said.
Speaker A
Yes, they're saying Islam Makhachev is an all-time great, which he is, true, right? They did say, you know, he proved something when he beat him. Yes, true.
Speaker A
But didn't I say, and if you're honest, if people are honest and they look at the video that I posted, and very few people are really honest when it comes down to me, this is why I languish around 38,000
Speaker A
subscribers, and people don't have 5% of my knowledge have 100,000, because I'm just too truthful.
Speaker A
But getting back to Ian Machado Garry, what are people saying now? They're saying, oh yeah, well, if he wasn't so nice, he would have done a lot better. Well, that's exactly what I said, that he was going to play it safe
Speaker A
and if he played it safe, he would do it to his own detriment, right?
Speaker A
Period. Islam Makhachev said what? He said, "It's his hardest fight." That's what I said. And to this day, I believe that had I trained Ian Machado Garry, and I will do a separate video pointing out what would have likely happened had
Speaker A
I trained him. Yes, if me, Sayf Carman, not no, you know, you know, not some fictitious person, me, the guy you're looking at right now.
Speaker A
If I had trained Ian Machado Garry, an 800-sq-ft place with just two sparring partners and a pair of punch mitts, two sparring partners and a pair of striking mitts, that's all. I don't need a whole lot of equipment. Had I trained
Speaker A
him, he would have either gotten a draw, right? Certainly the split, certainly the decision would have been closer than what it was.
Speaker A
Clearly. Clearly, that's what I was asked. I was asked what I thought about Ian Machado Garry, and I told you people that they were counting him out like he had no chance.
Speaker A
And I think people now see that he did have a chance. I also talked about him coming from shoot the box, shoot the box, and therefore having great takedown defense. Well, what did you see?
Speaker A
You did not see great takedown defense. You didn't see it? So, the reality is this, it had nothing to do with my faith.
Speaker A
Point-blank period. I wasn't asked anything about Islam, my faith. I was asked about Islam, the fighter.
Speaker A
Next. Who do I think is the greatest MMA fighter of all time? Georges St-Pierre.
Speaker A
I absolutely love Islam Makhachev, but I will say this about Islam. Talking about Islam Makhachev, I will say this about Islam. I don't like the fact that when he is asked something in the interview, he doesn't say alhamdulillah.
Speaker A
The first thing every Muslim should say when they are being interviewed is alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah because it is Allah. You're Muslim, you understand Allah is the one that guides you to victory, not you yourself.
Speaker A
If you look at Khabib, every time Khabib was in an interview when he was congratulated before he would go into the go in and talk about his victory, he would say alhamdulillah.
Speaker A
[screaming] Hey, first of all, I want to say alhamdulillah, God gave me everything. Alhamdulillah, I know you got this they don't like this. ALHAMDULILLAH, TOMORROW NIGHT I'M GOING TO SMASH YOUR BOY, GUYS. I'M GOING TO SMASH YOUR BOY.
Speaker A
I would say that to Islam Makhachev. Islam, maybe your success is going to your head. You need to say alhamdulillah first before you start asking and answering questions.
Speaker A
Now, I will say that. That I will say. The greatest MMA fighter, in my opinion, is Georges St-Pierre.
Speaker A
Period. Why? Why is Georges St-Pierre? Now, there are some people that will say, "Okay, it's Mighty Mouse." If someone said that it was Mighty Mouse, that it was Demetrious Johnson, I wouldn't argue. I wouldn't argue the point, right? Because I think he's
Speaker A
second, right? I don't think Jon Jones is the greatest MMA fighter of all time because he's usually had a physical advantage and particularly height over his opponents. And and and you already come with some kind of physical advantage. Now,
Speaker A
did he do well against Alexander I believe Gus-Gustafsson? Right, I don't want to butcher his name. Yes, and was that a very good fight? Yes. Some people believe he lost it to Alex. I don't believe so.
Speaker A
Alex matched him in height? Yeah. But for the most part, Jon Jones was just taller. And when people have any physical advantage, I generally say that they're good, but I put it asterisks after it. Now, someone said Anderson
Speaker A
Silva was the greatest of all time. I wouldn't argue that point, either. It is obvious that his Brazilian jiu-jitsu was, I mean, just off the rails when you see what he did against Chael Sonnen when the fight was actually p...
Speaker A
he lost Chael Sonnen, right? But on his striking alone, one would have to say that certainly three or four greatest of all time. Okay, I have no problem with that. But my personal opinion is that Georges St-Pierre is the greatest MMA
Speaker A
fighter of all time. This is my reason. This is my reason. The perfect mix.
Speaker A
The perfect mix of martial arts. The perfect mix of martial arts. There was nobody smoother in his transition from range to range, from punching to kicking, from kicking to takedowns, from takedowns into into position, from position into submission. No-one had was
Speaker A
more perfect and more textbook than Georges St-Pierre. Now, most of you are going to get emotional.
Speaker A
You are going to get emotional, and you are going to pick someone else without even taking the time to look at Georges St-Pierre and compare him to other fighters. You're not going to do it because many of you are adolescent, too
Speaker A
very feminine in your in your demeanor, right? So, you're feeling right now, you're feeling emotional. You are not even going to look and see what Safe Carn is talking about because your panties are now in a bunch. My point,
Speaker A
though, is that Georges St-Pierre, why was his takedowns so flawless? Why did he have such a high takedown percentage?
Speaker A
Why? Because he would jab and lean over his over his knee. Okay, he would jab forward. He would punch so he would punch with such technique that he would almost be going into his takedown as he threw the punch.
Speaker A
The brilliance of Georges St-Pierre was textbook. Every other MMA fighter, when you look at them, they were good, but there is something something somewhere crude about the way they did something.
Speaker A
Whether it's the way they punch, whether it was the way they kicked, whether whether it was their takedowns. If you looked at Islam Makhachev, his takedowns compared to Georges St-Pierre, very effective but crude in how they look. Period. It has
Speaker A
nothing to do with me being Muslim. It has nothing to do with him being Muslim.
Speaker A
No one who knows if they're is look that what they're looking at can say that Georges St-Pierre was not the smoothest in his in his transitions from one particular range into the next.
Speaker A
If you think of mix of perfect mix of boxing, of karate, of of jujitsu, of wrestling, when you think about it, Georges St-Pierre remains the greatest MMA fighter of all time. And yes, I do believe that his his his his his
Speaker A
smoothness, his his total MMA game was yes better than Islam Makhachev. And yes, I will say that his smoothness, I'm saying smooth, I'm keep repeating myself because you people, you guys out there, you're going to have a fit. And I'm saying you're
Speaker A
going to have a fit not because you have a great deal of knowledge. You're going to have a fit because you were feminine in in the you're in the ability to self-regulate.
Speaker A
You were feminine and childish in your ability your inability to self-control, to control your mind, to think rather than emote.
Speaker A
I am simply saying that Georges St-Pierre is a textbook MMA fighter to the point where his transition from one position to the next was seamless. It was completely flawless. And this is why you can see him go from throwing a punch
Speaker A
into something you many you people have probably never heard of called the spear double.
Speaker A
That is when you were pushing you you're launching yourself forward, grabbing both legs, and using your momentum uh with your head or your shoulder to drive them back called the spear double.
Speaker A
You can look it up. Why was his takedown uh so difficult to defend? Because he set it up so perfectly. All you rarely saw him struggle to take people down the the way you see Islam Makhachev struggle, the way you see other people
Speaker A
struggle, okay? So, I'm going to leave it at that. Islam Makhachev, one of the greatest of all time. There is no reason why I should have to convince you of that.
Speaker A
Khabib, one of the greatest of all time. There is no reason why I need to convince you of that. But people did not ask me to make a judgment based on religion. They asked me to make a judgment based on me starting to
Speaker A
cross-train in 1978 and being an expert on MMA and what it is to mix perfectly your different martial arts that go into making up an MMA game. That's what I was asked. To this day, I will say Ian Machado Garry
Speaker A
is probably is not probably, but is one of the best strikers in the UFC, period.
Speaker A
And had he let his hands go, had he let his feet go, and combined what he knows how to do with the takedown defense that you witnessed when he fought Islam Makhachev, had he done that, the fight would have been a hell of a lot closer.
Speaker A
That does not mean at all that I am less Muslim. It does not mean at all that Islam Makhachev is less Muslim. It simply means that I was asked to critique the fight, and I did.
Speaker A
I will end by saying two things. Well, I will end by saying this, and I will be talking about a few things, actually.
Speaker A
There is a great deal of resentment. And this resentment is something that I understand.
Speaker A
Again, it might be resentment because you don't like my attitude. It might be resentment because I'm Muslim. It might be resentment because I'm black.
Speaker A
Whatever the case might be, the reality is this. There are several things that no one no one is going to eclipse me with.
Speaker A
No one. One is neuroscience and how it applies to how people think. That includes neuroplasticity, how a brain reshapes itself and remakes itself.
Speaker A
That includes trauma and what trauma does to the brain. That includes the theory of personality, the multiple theories of personality.
Speaker A
That includes all of those different things. I am not going to be eclipsed if you're talking about that. If you were talking about Islam, I'm not going to be eclipsed if you're talking about that.
Speaker A
If you were talking about science from evolution of technology, I'm not going to be eclipsed if you were talking about that. So, if anyone has any issue, and they come from those particular positions, you were going to be
Speaker A
embarrassed. You don't have to like me. But stop making yourself foolish by implying somehow that I am an intellectual lightweight because I assure you that I am not.
Speaker A
I'll see you next video.
Topics:Islam MakhachevIan Machado GarryMMA critiqueMuslim martial artistGeorges St-Pierregreatest MMA fighterIslamic sciencesfight analysisMMA GOAT debatemartial arts
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