Jordan Burroughs Challenges Islam Makhachev’s Willingness to Enter His Wrestling World

Recently, RAF has become a place where UFC fighters take on top wrestlers to show who is better. Arman Tsarukyan has proved his wrestling skills time and again by beating Lance Palmer, Urijah Faber, Georgio Poullas, and others. Meanwhile, Jordan Burroughs had called out Islam Makhachev, but now it seems he has moved on from the wrestling match, as he believes the Dagestani star is not interested in competing.

Jordan Burroughs Dismisses Islam Makhachev Wrestling Showdown: “I’m Moving On”

Burroughs has answered Makhachev's MMA challenge, and he doesn't think the two will ever share a mat or a cage. It started when Burroughs beat Russian wrestler Magomed Kurbanaliev 10-0 in under 90 seconds, then called out Makhachev for a wrestling match. Makhachev praised Burroughs but said he would rather face him inside an MMA cage.

Burroughs says he respects the answer. Makhachev is a fighter and he is a wrestler, so he wouldn't step into Makhachev's arena, and Makhachev doesn't want to step into his. He pointed out that Makhachev never actually said he wanted to wrestle him.

Burroughs stated, “He knows and has to learn and understand and grasp the knowledge and wisdom from wrestling. So he has an understanding of it. He gets it. He does it. He just doesn't want to do it against me. I'm not critical of his fighting. I don't think it's going to ever materialize. I'm just moving on to something more fruitful.”

In Burroughs' view, Makhachev already knows wrestling well, since he has had to learn and absorb it as part of his craft. He just doesn't want to use it against Burroughs. There's no criticism of Makhachev's fighting in that, Burroughs said. Meanwhile, the American wrestler suffered a setback after losing to Michael Caliendo.

Michael Caliendo Stuns Jordan Burroughs in Massive RAF Upset

Michael Caliendo pulled off a major upset at RAF 14 on Friday, October 23, beating wrestling legend Burroughs 8-5 in Las Vegas. Caliendo went in as the underdog, but his speed and movement kept him a step ahead of the Olympic gold medalist. He built a 5-0 lead before the final period, which left Burroughs with a lot of ground to make up.

Burroughs came back hard in the third and tried to turn the match around. Caliendo stayed calm, defended his attacks and added more points of his own to close it out. It was a huge moment for Caliendo, who took down one of the biggest names in American wrestling. Now, before taking on Makhachev he has to bounce back and show his class in the next showdown.