Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, is exceedingly confident in the lightweight’s chances against Charles Oliveira. Makhachev is set to face the former lightweight champion for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 280, and Javier Mendez told Submission Radio that he fully expects Islam to win the fight, whether it stays on the feet or goes to the ground. After that? Featherweight champ Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski.
“Well, first of all, he’s gonna take him down. It’s just a matter of when, but he will take him down, and Charles is not gonna be able to stand. If Islam doesn’t want to stand, he will not, he’ll be taken down. He is second to Khabib in being able to take people down, and he will go down. Charles will go down. Charles is not known to be a wrestler. Also, keep in mind, Charles has got such a phenomenal jiu-jitsu game.
Javier Mendez: Makhachev Wants Volkanovski After Oliveira Fight
In MMA, in pure jiu-jitsu, he’s probably got the best game in the lightweight division. So, why would he be afraid to go to the ground? He’s not. He wants to test himself there with Islam. And by all means, we’re fine with that too.
The bottom line is, the thing about this fight is, wanna stand up? Okay, let’s go. Going to the ground? Okay, let’s go. So, we’ll see who can dominate where when that time comes. But we’re prepared to dominate in the standup, we’re prepared to dominate on the ground. And they are too. They’re well prepared. He’s a champion for a reason.”
Makhachev and Oliveira have some of the most formidable grappling skills of anyone on the UFC roster. One matchup that interests Makhachev’s camp is Alex Volkanovski, who trains alongside Craig Jones, one of the best jiu-jitsu athletes on the planet. Outside of his ability to escape two seemingly inescapable Brian Ortega submissions, Volkanovski has yet to showcase his grappling ability in the UFC.
“For me the interesting one is Alex, because he’s on a tear, and he’s a great sportsman and he’s gonna keep it clean.
And if you’re asking me what I would want and who, as a sports person, not as an entertainment, but if you’re talking about sports who deserves the right? A hundred percent him, one hundred percent. He’s a class act, he comes from a very reputable gym that’s got class coaches. And they stick up for their team.
I like what they represent. I like the way they stick up for each other. How they’re like of band of brothers, just like my guys are a band of brothers. I respect them. A very, very high, very, very high opinion of those guys. Very high.”
What’s your UFC 280 prediction? Will Makhachev vs Volkanovski be next? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkGZi0m8f68
