Has  Islam Makhachev surpassed his coach  Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘s accomplishments in the lightweight division? Former UFC featherweight titleholder  Aljamain Sterling believes he has.  “Islam is one of the greatest lightweights of all time, in my opinion. I think he surpasses Khabib just based on how active he’s been,” Sterling said on  his YouTube channel . ”In terms of Khabib’s run, I think Khabib had a total of 13 or 14 fights. I think Islam is already past that if I’m not mistaken.” Nurmagomedov (29-0) retired following his UFC 254 win over  Justin Gaethje in October 2020. He fought 13 times inside the octagon and successfully defended the 155-pound championship three times. Makhachev (27-1) has 17 octagon appearances under his belt and has the most lightweight title defenses in the promotion’s history with four, one more than Nurmagomedov.  “He (Nurmagomedov) had a great run.