Javier Mendez thinks Alexander Volkanovski will be less cautious in his rematch vs. Islam Makhachev.
With Charles Oliveira forced out due to a cut, lightweight champion Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will now defend his belt against featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) next Saturday, Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi. Volkanovski will step in on less than two weeks’ notice for the title-fight rematch.
Volkanovski gave Makhachev a very competitive fight at UFC 284 in February, finishing off the fight in top position. Makhachev won by unanimous decision, but Volkanovski was able to fend off a good portion of Makhachev’s grappling, which makes Mendez think he will be more aggressive this time around.
“He’s going to do more,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “He’s going to take chances. He’s going to take more chances than last time. He’s not going to be worried about the takedowns, because he’s obviously survived the ground last time, and he also did his best work on the ground, not in the standup. So he’s not going to be afraid of anything. And that’s the one thing I feel he’s going to do, is he’s going to come, and he’s going to come throwing.
“He’s not going to be too cautious. He’s just going to come because he feels he can handle whatever it is when he has to throw. But we’ll see. I mean, you can feel whatever you want to feel, but when you’re in there, it’s not what I think, it’s not what you think, it’s not what anybody thinks, it’s what these two are going to do. And can they handle it? I’m saying yes, but who knows.”
Considering that Makhachev dominated Oliveira at UFC 280, Mendez admits he wasn’t too excited for that rematch when it was announced.
“For me, 100 percent,” Mendez said on Volkanovski being a better fight. “And for the fans, I think so too. For the UFC, I think they had a great main event. Now they’ve got a way better main event. They’ve got, in my opinion, the all-time greatest rivalry in the champion vs. champion UFC history.”
Mendez always wanted the Volkanovski rematch so Makhachev can silence any doubters who claim that he lost the fight.
“I was kind of thinking, did I wish this to happen or something? Because I’m the one that was talking about, for me, this is the fight that I think needs to happen,” Mendez said. “Because, I wanted this fight for me personally. Not for Islam. Islam will fight anybody. But I wanted this one, for me. Because I felt that there was unfinished business. Not that I was thinking, ‘Oh, we didn’t win.’ We did win. And we won clearly, in my eyes. We won clearly.
“And I think in everybody’s eyes, when they watch it, turn the volume off, watch the fight and you’ll see that Islam won the majority of every round. And it wasn’t for the last 45 seconds of the fifth round, he definitely lost that one. But other than that (he won). But still, there’s too much, you know, ‘No this, no that.’ So, I just want clarity. I want clarity. And Islam deserves, in my opinion, to be pound-for-pound No. 1. And this will justify that.”
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