Will Islam Makhachev find it harder to beat Alexander Volkanovski than Charles Oliveira – Javier Mendez answers.
Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez doesn’t think Alexander Volkanovski is necessarily a tougher opponent for the Dagestani than Charles Oliveira.
According to Mendez, Volkanovski will be a different kind of fight for Makhachev compared to ‘do Bronx’.
But Mendez believes Volkanovski’s ground game isn’t as good as Oliveira’s. The AKA head coach doesn’t think ‘The Great’ can defend Islam Makhachev’s takedowns when a jiu-jitsu wizard like Oliveira couldn’t. Mendez recently said in an interview with Helen Yee and The Schmo on The Schmozone:
“Different. I don’t necessarily think tougher, just different. He’s gonna have disadvantages and he’s gonna have advantages. It’s gonna be different. One thing is for sure, does he have Charles’s ground game? Nope. Nope. Can he stop Islam from taking him down? Nope. Cannot. Let’s see what happens.”
Islam Makhachev lived up to his hype with a dominant second-round submission win over Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280. Makhachev outclassed ‘do Bronx’ in all aspects, controlling the Brazilian on the ground and even dropping him with a big right hand which led to the finishing sequence.
The Dagestani champion went on to call out Volkanovski, who came on stage to set up a champ vs. champ clash for UFC 284 in Perth.
Watch Mendez’s comments at the 2:20 mark of the video below:
Dan Hooker warns Islam Makhachev of underestimating Alexander Volkanovski
Islam Makhachev called out ‘short guy’ Alexander Volkanovski in the immediate aftermath of his UFC 280 victory. Volkanovski’s teammate Dan Hooker believes Makhachev might be underestimating ‘The Great’, judging by his direct call out.
Makhachev called for a title fight in Perth in a bid to establish himself as the UFC pound-for-pound, a position currently held by Volkanovski. According to Hooker, Makhachev is in for a lot of trouble if he is expecting ‘The Great’ to be easy work.
‘The Hangman’ claims that it is extremely difficult to hold Volkanovski on the ground owing to his stocky frame. The 32-year-old told Submission Radio:
“I feel they’re kind of looking down and being like, ‘Oh man, we’ll go snatch up this featherweight real quick. But they’re really in for a whole lot of trouble. That’s an incredibly difficult man to hold on the ground. Like, he keeps saying he’s short and stuff like that, but holding him on the ground, holding a guy that’s that stocky on the ground is incredibly difficult. So I feel like he’s in for an incredibly tough test in Alex Volkanovski in Perth.”
Watch Hooker’s comments at the 26:38 mark of the video below: