Islam Makhachev went into the octagon looking for his eighth straight win in the lightweight division and he got it via a rare naked choke on Thiago Moises in the fourth round.

When former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retired last year, he tipped his friend and protege Islam to become the next undisputed lightweight champion. Since he said that, the Dagestani had only fought once, earning a dominant victory over Drew Dober early this year.

After that victory, the UFC tried to speed up Islam’s progression up the rankings but the top ranked fighter declined the UFC’s call. 

After months of frustration at the inability to fight a higher ranked opponent, Islam and the UFC settled for 14th ranked Thiago Moises who was on a three-fight winning streak himself. 

The fight started fairly competitively, with ninth ranked Islam electing to keep the fight standing early on, much to the dismay of his coaches. 

As the rounds wore on, he started to wear Moises down with the grappling. 

Moises fought back and even attempted a submission of his own but by the fourth round he was worn out and the ninth ranked Islam was able to get him down again, sink the choke in and get the tap.

It was another impressive victory for a man who many believe is the champion in waiting. 

In the post fight interview, Islam lamented that most fighters were avoiding him and called out a list of guys as his potential next opponents including Rafael Dos Anjos, Mike Chandler and Beneil Dariush. 

It will be interesting to see what is next for the 29 year old. 

The card also featured the return of former UFC women’s Bantamweight Champ Meisha Tate. 

Tate was coming back from a five-year layoff and she dispatched of veteran Marion Reneau in dominant fashion. Reneau was fighting her last fight in the UFC and it was the first time in her career she’d ever been finished.