American Kickboxing Academy Head (AKA) Coach Javier Mendez is confident Islam Makhachev can dominate the UFC lightweight division.
The long-time AKA head coach, who has trained champions Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, has dubbed Makhachev as a future title holder.
The Dagestan native’s goal is to be UFC champion like his close friend and coach, Khabib. Despite the comparisons, Makhachev is creating his own path to a title shot.
Rumors have been circulating on Makhachev’s next challenge, whether that’s a title fight against former champion Charles Oliviera or another top-five challenger in the lightweight division.
Makhachev believes he’s next in line for a lightweight title fight. Michael Chandler has called for an interim title fight against Makhachev to “keep the division warm” while Oliviera waits on a Conor McGregor matchup.
Islam Makhachev Is Down To Fight Anyone
Coach Mendez shares the same sentiment as Makhachev, who considers himself the best lightweight on the planet.
“We’re not ducking no one. Put them up. Line them up. Whoever [Islam] gets, he gets. He gonna beat,” Mendez told Submission Radion. “That’s how Islam goes into the fights. He goes in with that same attitude. ‘I don’t care who you put in front of me, 155 I’m beating them’ and Khabib and I believe that 100 percent.”
When asked about a potential title fight between Makhachev and Oliviera, Coach Mendez is unsure why the matchup has not been made official by UFC matchmakers.
“I always find it best for me to just stay on the outside and wait till the UFC announces what’s next and as far as I know, I don’t know anything yet because there’s nothing been announced,” Mendez said. “Where is it going to be, I don’t know. Whether Abu Dhabi or who knows wherever, I don’t know yet.”
Oliviera, who is on an 11-fight winning streak, is interested in fighting Makhachev for the interim title to lure his brother Khabib out of retirement. The Brazilian native was stripped of the lightweight title after missing weight at UFC 274, but vows to gain it back and cement his legacy in combat sports.
“I’ll beat Islam Makhachev and then challenge Khabib to come back from retirement,” he told Ag. fight.
Since his UFC debut in 2015, Makhachev has been climbing the ranks of the lightweight division. The 30-year-old is unbeaten in his last 10 fights with previous wins over Bobby Green, Dan Hooker and Thiago Moisés.
Makhachev last fought in February and earned a first-round TKO win against Green. Post-fight, he shared his desire for a future title shot.
“I need [a] title fight. I’m ready, I’m here,” Makhachev said. “Always ready, always training hard. Just tell me when and where and that’s it.”
Longtime MMA coach Javier Mendez believes that Conor McGregor wouldn’t be able to do much damage to former Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira if they were to fight now. The former two division champion McGregor has been floated around as a possible matchup against Oliveira for the vacant Lightweight title. Oliveira was stripped of the belt […]