Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev might be two sides of the same coin, but coach Javier Mendez believes one is a bit better than the other, at least in certain aspects.
While both of them went on to become world champions at combat sambo before switching to MMA, coach Javier Mendez believes there is one area in which Islam Makhachev has outshined ‘The Eagle’ since the get-go.
Mendez recently sat down for an interview with ‘The Schmo’ where he talked about ranking Islam among all-time greats at lightweight in the UFC. Mendez stated that Makhachev is an extremely well-rounded fighter and could even sit atop Khabib on this list.
When asked at what point Makhachev started outshining Nurmagomedov in this department, Mendez said,
“In all honesty, right from the get go Khabib was not a great striker. So Islam already came in as a fairly good striker. So he was already ahead of Khabib, he has been ahead of Khabib in the striking department. In the overall department, I don’t know if anyone is ever going to be better than Khabib. As far as technically, from the very beginning Islam was a better striker than Khabib.”
Makhachev used his impressive striking to KO Alexander Volkanovski and then in his UFC 302 fight against Poirier, he easily caught ‘The Diamond’s face way too many times.
Islam then went on to declare his ambitions to be a world champion across two divisions. Unfortunately, a brotherly code might stop him from fulfilling that dream.
Coach Javier Mendez shares his thoughts on what is next for Islam Makhachev
Mended claimed that irrespective of the name, Makhachev would not shy away from a challenge. Obviously, the common contention is that if Belal Muhammad defeats Leon Edwards in Manchester, Islam would not shoot his shot. So that fight in particular plays a key role in the legacy of Islam Makhachev.
Now, Mendez believes that the UFC might offer him either Tsarukyan or a shot at the welterweight title depending on how the fight between Muhammad and Edwards plays out.
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If Muhammad were to win, Makhachev would surely take on Arman Tsarukyan. However, if Edwards were to win, it would open the door for a champion vs champion fight in the UFC for the first time in a few years.
Coach Mendez also added that Makhachev would eventually fight for a second belt at some point in his UFC career.
