Islam Makhachev finally gets a taker for his famous Dagestan offer

Islam Makhachev's famous invitation to send fighters to Dagestan for two or three years of training has finally found a serious taker. The Dagestani UFC welterweight champion has made the offer to prominent fighters over the years—most notably to Daniel Cormier, encouraging him to send his son to Russia for wrestling training—but few have accepted. Now, unbeaten UFC light heavyweight Navajo Stirling is stepping up.

Stirling, a 28-year-old New Zealander riding an 11-0 record with six UFC victories, posted a photo of himself in a papakha (a traditional Caucasian wool hat) on Instagram, directly echoing Makhachev's famous line: "Islam Makhachev, our saviour, send me 2-3 year Dagestan and forget." In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Stirling reiterated his seriousness about the prospect, noting that while Makhachev has extended invitations to other elite fighters like Demetrious Johnson, they have declined due to family obligations. Stirling, unencumbered by such ties, is genuinely interested—though he suggested starting with two or three weeks rather than the full multi-year commitment.

"I would love to go to Dagestan," Stirling told Helwani. "You see Islam throwing out invites and none of the Americans are taking it. He threw one out to Mighty Mouse. They've all got kids and whatnot, but man, I ain't got no kids, bro. If they ever threw me the offer, I don't know about two or three years, brother, but maybe two or three weeks to start off."

Stirling is scheduled to headline UFC Qatar on November 21 against former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (32-6-1) at ABHA Arena in Doha.