UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev may be willing to take on all comers, but according to his coach, sparring with heavyweights is simply a no-go.
Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight titleholder, has been sidelined since UFC 311 in January after becoming the first fighter at the weight class to land four title defenses consecutively.
Taking on Renato Moicano on short notice, Makhachev racked up a first-round D’Arce choke submission in emphatic fashion. Since then, he has been linked to a welterweight move, fauking which a fight with either Justin Gaethje or Ilia Topuria appears to be on the horizon.
But for his stunning training regime, the American Kickboxing Academy ace has been reeled in by his head coach on occasion.
Calling into question the necessity to tangle with much bigger fighters, Mendez revealed he put a firm end to those damaging sessions involving Makhachev.
“I’m watching him (Islam Makhachev) and he’s sparring with heavyweights,” Mendez said on his podcast.
“And I didn’t like it he was handling it fine he was doing better than the heavyweight himself. But it’s just the fact that the guy was like 230-40 lbs and Islam’s 180-181 [pounds], you know”, he continued.
“That’s about the average weight for him when he’s in camp fight camp. So I didn’t want Islam, you know to get hit by something that big, Mendez noted adding that it could lead to serious issues later on in his life.
“It’s killing brain cells. I don’t really like him doing that, but he did it enough times. And probably still to this day, he’s probably doing it“, the AKA coach said, sounding disappointed.
Interestingly, barring the Dustin Poirier fight at UFC 302 and the Alexander Volkanovkski fight at UFC 184, Makhahachev has never seriously hurt during an actual fight.
Makhachev’s lightweight dominance
Makhachev’s sole defeat came via knockout to boot. Featuring against Brazilian veteran Adriano Martins back in 2015 in Texas, Makhachev would drop a stunning opening round counter KO loss during the pair’s clash on the preliminary card.
However, in the time since, the lightweight kingpin has embarked on a spectacular run- rattling off 15 straight victories en route to his dominant run to the championship belt.
But his defense is to be marvelled at as well. Racking up five career knockout wins, Makhachev has notably high-kicked and knocked out the new featherweight champion, Volkanovski.
And even outstruck Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, and seasoned striker, King Green en route to the crown.
With a potential bout against Ilia Topuria seemingly on the horizon, it will need to be seen if he can keep up the same impressive record.
The former featherweight champion is widely believed to be the most versatile of Islam’s potential opponents and has specifically moved up to 155 lbs to fight him.
And even though Islam and Team Khabib Nurmagomedov continue to advocate for a #1 title contender fight for the Spaniard, according to UFC middleweight Colby Covington, the fight is already in the works.
Interestingly, Topuria has boldy claimed that he could not only knock Islam out but also make him tap to his favorite chokehold- the D’Arce.
