Islam Makhachev believes the a fighter’s responsibilities outside the cage help to produce a champion.
While the U.S. used to dominate in the past, there are no male American UFC champions left today. Although bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili has American citizenship, he was born and raised in Georgia. Fighters from the Caucasus region have seemingly taken over the sport, dominating almost every major promotion in the world. Five of the Top 15 pound-for-pound UFC fighters belong to the Caucasus region. Former middleweight champ Sean Strickland even blamed the UFC for signing up fighters from the region, which he believes led to the decline of American champs.