Islam Makhachev praised for actions not shown on PPV after Ian Garry win

Islam Makhachev has been praised for a subtle moment captured immediately after his historic win over Ian Machado Garry.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, UFC welterweight champion Makhachev cemented his place as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the sport with a win over no. 1 contender Machado Garry in Philadelphia.

The Russian champion picked up a unanimous decision victory after what he admitted was one of the hardest fights of his life, making it his 17th successive UFC win, breaking Anderson Silva's 13-year win record.

In doing so, many believe Makhachev has now got a firm claim to being the greatest UFC fighter of all time, alongside the likes of Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.

And it's not just his actions inside the octagon last weekend that have fans heaping praise on the UFC superstar, as footage of an interaction with Machado Garry's family post-fight has gone viral online.

Throughout fight week, Machado Garry, 28, brought his son, Leo, with him while performing the various media duties required for such a big UFC event.

During this media, it became clear that Leo was a big fan of Makhachev, with the three-year-old even crying when he didn't get a chance to meet the champion during a press event at the start of the week.

However, when Makhachev spotted Leo clearly emotional after his dad's loss on Sunday morning, the Russian made sure to take some time to go over and comfort his young fan.

Footage of the wholesome moment shows Makhachev approaching Leo and Machaco Garry's wife, Layla, placing a hand on the crying youngster.

Reacting to the footage, one fan on Reddit wrote: "Islam truly doesn't want to be a boogeyman to kids. We learned this from Volk. Respect."

Another added: "Makhachev showing what it means to be a champion. My GOAT."

Makhachev slams Machado Garry for pre-fight behaviour

The UFC champion's display comes after a fight week that saw Machado Garry regularly praising his opponent for all that he has done in the sport.

Even during the fight itself, the Irishman hugged and touched gloves with Makhachev on several occasions, later raising his arm to congratulate him within seconds of the fight ending.

Although many would see this as a kind and respectful gesture, post-fight Makhachev admitted that he 'didn't understand' why there had been so much friendliness ahead of a UFC title fight.

"Bro, I don't understand man," he told reporters after the win. "This is a fight, this is not something where we have to hug each other every rounds, you know?

"We're going to war to break the face, to break the eye, you know? That's why I respect all my opponents, but Ian, I don't know, he respects too much.

"He told me he fought with the greatest fighter today. I respect him, he's a good guy, very kind, you know? But this is war.

"Look at my face, I just come to beat everybody, it's not something you have to play [with], this is a fight, this is not a game."

Some may believs that Makhachev is being harsh with his comments, but it's not an uncommon opinion, as UFC boss Dana White also criticised Machado Garry for his respectful displays during the fight.

"If he had even an ounce of killer instinct in that fifth round," White said post-fight.

"He had been beating him to the body. Islam's whole, I think, right side was beat up. His face was beat up.

"You don't come out and hug and shake hands. That s*** drives me f****** crazy when there's so much at stake. There's also a lot of mental gamesmanship, whatever you want to call it, in this game.

"You come out in that fifth round with a flying knee or something crazy, and you try to finish the fight.

"I think that this is one of those fights that Ian will go back and watch and say, f***, wish I could do that over again."

Despite the criticism, Machado Garry continued to have nothing but good things to say about Makhachev and his team post-fight, and vowed that at just 28 years old, this is far from the last we will see of him as a UFC title contender.