Michael Chiesa takes on the backlash for an unconventional MMA Mt. Rushmore, naming Islam Makhachev

UFC analyst Michael Chiesa is leaning into the controversy. In an interview published by Yahoo Sports on August 20, Chiesa said he has an unorthodox “MMA Mt. Rushmore” that includes Islam Makhachev, and he acknowledged he will “take heat for it,” indicating his list is likely to clash with the broader consensus about who belongs in the sport’s all-time conversation.

Chiesa’s point, as framed in the piece, is less about delivering a final answer and more about illustrating how different criteria shape the GOAT debate. For longtime MMA fans, the discussion usually revolves around careers as a whole, including longevity, impact across eras, and the ability to finish fights in multiple stylistic matchups. Chiesa’s inclusion of Makhachev indicates a different weighting, one that treats modern dominance and high-level championship-era performance as central to the argument.

The “Mount Rushmore” format itself is designed to simplify an inherently messy question, and Chiesa appears comfortable with that simplification being challenged. The article describes his list as “curious,” and notes that it places Makhachev above some “longstanding GOAT” candidates. That detail matters because it suggests Chiesa is not simply picking a current star, but making a comparative claim against the historical names people often cite when they talk about greatness in MMA.

From a UFC standpoint, the debate is not just entertainment. Chiesa’s commentary reflects the way the promotion’s current era is being evaluated relative to the past. When prominent voices in the sport name a fighter like Makhachev in an all-time tier, it reinforces the idea that the current championship landscape is, at minimum, strong enough to compete with the sport’s most celebrated runs.

It also hints at how analysts and fighters may be drawing lessons from different schools of MMA. Without needing to get into a specific tally of wins, Chiesa’s stance implies that elite grappling, fight control, and consistency under pressure carry enough weight to become the deciding factor in a “Mount Rushmore” exercise, even if other accomplished figures sit closer to the center of mainstream GOAT lists.

The caveat is that this is a personal analyst ranking, not an official UFC ballot, and it does not stand in for a comprehensive ranking methodology. Even in the same sport, different observers can reach different conclusions depending on whether they emphasize peak dominance, era-by-era impact, title reigns, or overall career arcs.

For fans, the practical question becomes what these debates look like once the sport moves forward. If Chiesa’s framing catches on, it may lead more viewers to judge the present championship era on its own terms, rather than using it solely as a bridge to the past. Watching what other analysts and fighters choose as “Mt. Rushmore” picks will be a useful barometer for how the sport’s all-time narrative is shifting.

In the meantime, Chiesa’s willingness to invite criticism is itself a headline. By placing Makhachev into his GOAT conversation and openly anticipating backlash, he turns a familiar MMA debate into a clear, quotable argument for modern dominance as a defining measure of greatness.