American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez expects Alexander Volkanovski to go the full 25 minutes with Islam Makhachev.
Lightweight champion Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) will make his first title defense against featherweight champion Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) in the UFC 284 main event Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Makhachev has finished his past five opponents, including a submission of Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280. But his coach, Mendez, foresees a back-and-forth battle.
“I expect at the end of the day Islam Makhachev is going to be pound-for-pound the best fighter in the UFC or in the world,” Mendez said in an interview with Helen Yee. “After he beats Alex, which I’m expecting him to do, but not like people are thinking, like any kind of finish. I don’t like that. It’s going to be a five-round war.”
Volkanovski is expecting to get taken down by Makhachev but doesn’t see himself getting held down for too long. Makhachev disagrees and sees him panicking once it hits the ground – and Mendez understands why Makhachev said that.
“Once he grabs you, you’re not thinking that kind of strength, and he’s super strong,” Mendez said. “So yeah, I think it’s possible it could happen. But Alex should relax, because that’s the best weapon, but will he be able to relax when Islam takes him down? When he takes him down, because that’s gonna happen. In my opinion, there is no one in the lightweight division that’s gonna beat Islam outside of what anybody can. Anybody can win, but on a decision? No one’s gonna beat him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
