Unbeaten Navajo Stirling calls Makhachev's bluff on famous Dagestan training offer

Undefeated UFC light heavyweight Navajo Stirling has become the first serious candidate for Islam Makhachev’s long-standing offer to send fighters to train in Dagestan, publicly calling for an invitation and insisting, unlike the veterans before him, that he has no family obligations to hold him back.

Makhachev’s catchphrase — “Send two-three years to Dagestan and forget” — originated as advice to Daniel Cormier about his son’s wrestling development and has since become a piece of MMA folklore. Previous targets of the offer, including former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, declined citing family commitments. Stirling, 28 and unattached, sees no such obstacle.

The New Zealander opened his campaign with a social media post: dressed in a papakha, the traditional wool hat of the Caucasus, he wrote on Instagram, “Islam Makhachev, our saviour, send me 2-3 year Dagestan and forget.” He then elaborated in an interview with Ariel Helwani.

“I would love to go to Dagestan,” Stirling said. “I feel like I would dive into the culture. You see Islam throwing out invites, and none of the Americans are taking it. D.C., or 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 (11-0) is undefeated across six UFC appearances and is currently riding a three-fight knockout streak. He is next scheduled to headline UFC Qatar against former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka (32-6-1) on 21 November at ABHA Arena in Doha — a significant step up that makes the prospect of elite Dagestani wrestling preparation all the more relevant.

Whether Makhachev, who holds the UFC lightweight title and trains at the renowned AKA and Dagestan camps, will formally extend the invitation remains to be seen. For now, Stirling has done everything short of booking the flight.