Outside Source
Joshua was recently in attendance at PFL Road to Dubai, where Makhachev’s teammate, Usman Nurmagomedov, successfully defended his lightweight title against Alfie Davis. Joshua shared greetings with the entire Dagestani contingent and had a few words in private with Makhachev.
Makhachev recently revealed that Joshua asked for his permission to print T-shirts with his most famous statement: “Send 2-3 years Dagestan and forget.” Makhachev’s statement, which is now perpetually a part of MMA lore, was initially his advice for Daniel Cormier‘s son to improve his wrestling. As Makhachev gave his approval to Joshua to print T-shirts, he also invited the former boxing heavyweight world champion to Dagestan to train in wrestling. Makhachev believes Joshua can become a formidable MMA fighter if he improves his grappling to complement his elite boxing.
Consider the Possibilities
“Anthony Joshua told me, ‘I want to make T-shirts,’ and I said ‘OK, I’ll give you approval, you can make T-shirts. And also, you have to come to Dagestan to improve your wrestling,’” Makhachev told Arena Fight TV. “This guy is huge, very good at striking, one of the best boxers in the world. If this big guy improves his wrestling, can you imagine how good he’s going to be in MMA?”
While Joshua has never competed in MMA, he knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, in a crossover boxing match in 2024. Although there were talks of a rematch between the two in MMA, it never came to fruition.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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