Islam Makhachev went from preparing for a tall, aggressive striker and submission artist in Charles Oliveira, to a short, stocky, counter striker in Alexander Volkanovski – and he had only 10 days to adjust to the change.
Yet, despite the sudden and drastic switch up in opponents for what will be Makhachev’s second lightweight title defense at Saturday’s UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, his coach Javier Mendez is not worried in the slightest.
“Islam doesn’t care because we can change plans on a dime,” Mendez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “We can change it as many times as we want because he’s well-rounded. He has all the styles. He has everything. He has boxing, Thai boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, sambo, he has everything.
“So we don’t care about how we’re going to prepare, no. He’ll be ready against anyone who steps in that cage. It doesn’t matter who.”
This is the second time Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) takes on Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC), as the two fought in February in Australia. That night at UFC 284, Makhachev defended his title in a very competitive unanimous decision victory.
Many are praising Volkanovski for stepping up and taking the fight on short notice, as it should be. However, Mendez wants to remind people to put some respect on Makhachev’s name, as he’s the one who has everything to lose in this situation.
“I respect him because he’s a great champion, but we’re the ones that need to be respected because we’re taking all comers,” Mendez said. “What is Volkanovski losing? He’s not losing his title, nothing. He can only win, that’s it. If he loses, people are going to say, ‘Oh, you took the fight on 10 days’ notice.’ So who has more to lose, him or Islam? Islam. Volkanovski has nothing to lose, he’s going in there like a dog. He’s going to go in there carefree.
“He will still have his title that he’ll have to defend against the Spaniard. And look, the money that he’ll make from this fight, and then he has another fight soon, that’s a lot of incentives to fight. If he loses, what is he going to lose? Nothing.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
