Islam Makhachev’s popularity knows no bounds. The current UFC Lightweight Champion has become an indisputable force in the UFC’s lightweight division and will look to climb to the #1 pound-for-pound rankings as he takes on Alexander Volkanovski next in his first title defense at UFC 284.
There’s no denying Islam Makhachev enjoys the attention and recognization that comes with being a close friend of Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, it’s equally important to note that Makhachev has truly cemented his legacy as one of his own. The Dagestani fighter has been extremely dominant in his mixed martial arts career, and with a stoppage win over Charles Oliveira, has already put his name in the history books.
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His success inside the Octagon is reflective of his popularity on Instagram, with a whopping 5.3 million followers on the photo-sharing platform. At the time of writing, Makhachev leads the chart with the most followers on Instagram in the lightweight division (not including Conor McGregor) and among active UFC Champions. Surprisingly enough, he has more followers than Khamzat Chimaev, Georges St-Pierre, and Dustin Poirier.
Who has the most followers on Instagram in the UFC?
At the time of writing, Conor McGregor has a staggering 46.1 million followers on Instagram. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov boasts 34.1 million followers. It’s safe to say, no UFC fighter comes even close to matching the popularity of McGregor and Nurmagomedov.
Meanwhile, former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya is right up in the rankings, with over 7.1 million followers. Adesanya is the only ranked fighter with more followers than Islam Makhachev. In the list of active UFC Champions, Francis Ngannou is the second most followed UFC star on Instagram with 4 million followers. Brandon Moreno and Alex Pereira follow Makhachev and Ngannou.
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4 current UFC Champions have little less than 1 million followers which include Alexander Volkanovski, Aljamain Sterling, Leon Edwards, and Deiveson Figueiredo. While the number of followers is not a factor that speaks about their ability inside the Octagon, it certainly speaks volumes about their popularity and hence their stock in the UFC.