A lot of people are comparing the upcoming lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier to Poirier’s 2019 shot at the belt against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which he lost. But Javier Mendez, who coaches both Makhachev and Nurmagomedov, thinks that comparison is way off base.
Continue reading to find out exactly why he thinks so!
Makhachev is gearing up for his third title defense against Poirier on June 1, headlining UFC 302. Even though Makhachev’s team knows Poirier well, Mendez views this as a completely different fight.
As per him, the upcoming fight will be quite different because Islam isn’t the same as Khabib. He explained that while both fighters are highly disciplined and work hard, their styles are distinct from each other. Mendez further explained that Khabib was more focused on ground fighting, following what they called “Father’s plan,” which emphasized taking the fight to the ground. They always directed Khabib to wrestle because no one could match him there, and he only trained with Mendez.
In contrast, Islam has trained in various styles, including Muay Thai and boxing, with different instructors in Dagestan, leading to significant improvements in his striking abilities. According to Mendez, Islam has the versatility to win fights in multiple ways, unlike Khabib, whose primary strength is wrestling. This makes Islam a more well-rounded fighter, capable of adapting his approach as he sees fit.
A lot of people think Makhachev should follow Khabib’s strategy and wrestle Poirier, just like in their 2019 title fight. While Poirier is known for his striking, Mendez is confident that Makhachev can hold his own and even outstrike Poirier.
Mendez pointed out that Makhachev outstruck Volkanovski, showing that he doesn’t need to rely solely on his ground game to win. He emphasized that people are mistaken if they think Islam can only win by taking the fight to the ground. Mendez assured that Islam is capable of handling both striking and ground game, although he didn’t reveal their specific strategy for the fight.
What are your predictions for this face-off? Let us know in the comments!
