Michael Chiesa has an unorthodox MMA Mount Rushmore.
Islam Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) defended his welterweight title by defeating Ian Machado Garry in this past Saturday's UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia. Makhachev defended his 170-pound belt after having broken the record for most UFC lightweight title defenses.
Makhachev also broke the record for most consecutive UFC wins, which has Chiesa putting him above former two-division UFC champ Georges St-Pierre in his greatest of all time list.
"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 "Now you can say he kind of superseded what Georges did.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."
Chiesa's MMA Mount Rushmore left two notable greats in Jon Jones and Anderson Silva off the list.
"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."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst reveals curious MMA Mt. Rushmore: 'I'll take heat for it'
