At 6-5, 285 pounds and with an Olympic wrestling gold medal (or two) currently his top priority,Bilyal Makhov believes he could be a future UFC heavyweight champion. His trainer all but guarantees it.
“To those who have never heard of me, I want to assure you: You will hear about me,” Makhov told MMAjunkie through an interpreter.
The 27-year-old “Bill” Makhov is a three-time freestyle wrestling world champion who has spent a lifetime perfecting his craft.
“There are two coaches who can be greatly credited with getting me into wrestling: Magomed Guseinov, who is now the coach of the Russian National Team in freestyle wrestling, as well as Khankala Gadzhimagomedov,” Makhov told MMAjunkie. “I was invited to train in Dagestan at a young age, and so because of wrestling, I had to leave Nalchik, capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, and for a long time I lived in a boarding school in Dagestan. This is where I began to really build my strong foundation in wrestling.”
Makhov was a bit of a prodigy, and he points to his success even in his teenage years as proof of his abilities, as well as his dedication to the sport.
“Probably of all my victories, I would point out my first success in the Adult World Championship as one of my proudest moments,” Makhov said. “Then, in 2007, at the age of 19, I won the Russian championship and thus was selected for the World Cup. After the victory in Baku and winning the Olympic license, I realized for the first time that all of the sweat and blood that I left on the mat was really worth it. On the mat, I am awarded for that daily work.
“Winning at the World Cup, I realized that I could then perform at the Olympics. For us wrestlers, the Olympics are the pinnacle of career achievement; the most desirable title for any wrestler is to be called Olympic champion.”
Makhov was robbed of that chance at the 2008 Summer Olympics when an unexpected (and perhaps nefarious) bout with mercury poisoning forced him to withdraw from the competition.
“Unfortunately, yes, the poisoning did take place, but I do not like to dwell on that,” Makhov said. “I can only say that I had a very difficult period in front of me, and I was left with two options: either to give up on my athletic career, or to dismiss the incident as best I could and continue to move toward my goal.
“If you constantly think about the past, it will prevent you from moving forward. Therefore, I chose to forget about that period and start over with a clean slate – and here I am.”
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Bilyal Makhov, UFC heavyweight champ? Trainer says in six months, he beats Velasquez | MMAjunkie
