"Islam is well versed in everything" - Coach Javier Mendez points out the difference between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov (left); Islam Makhachev (centre); Javier Mendez (right) Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Khabib Nurmagomedov (left); Islam Makhachev (centre); Javier Mendez (right) Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Javier Mendez recently revealed the differences between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov in terms of their fighting styles.

In a recent episode of the UTC podcast, Mendez admitted that Islam Makhachev is more well versed in different forms of MMA than Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Mendez attributed this to Makhachev's broad training with a variety of coaches, compared to Nurmagomedov's exclusive training with Mendez.

Discussing the different fighting styles of Makhachev and 'The Eagle', the MMA coach said:

"No, they're different. They are not the same. Islam is well versed in everything, everything you can think of-striking, kicking...judo throws, jiu-jitsu, sambo, wrestling, he's got all of it. Khabib didn't have the complete picture. He was working on it but the reason being that Khabib didn't train with other coaches only me and Islam does. Islam has extremely incredible coaches at home... He's got the main coach that runs everything. He's got a boxing coach. And before that Islam trained with other guys for coaches. So, Islam has a lot of coaches that he went through. Of course, the main one being Khabib and second one being me. But he still has other coaches that he trains with."

Check out the clip below:


Javier Mendez feels Islam Makhachev should get a title shot after fight with Bobby Green

Javier Mendez seemed confident that Makhachev will be given a title shot if he strikes a win at UFC Vegas 49. The veteran MMA coach was of the belief that not many fighters on the roster could bypass Makhachev's championship claim should the Dagestani win against Bobby Green.

During a recent episode of The Schomozone Podcast, Mendez said:

"No, I don't think there's any fear of that because if they think about it who's left? Dustin? I mean and Justin Gaethje is gonna fight him right. So who's left? Michael Chandler? It doesn't make any sense that you know. There's only one guy that can jump ahead of everybody and we've got to see if that's going to happen or not but right now I don't see anybody jumping ahead of Islam with a win... It's very obvious that it's Islam that's going to get the opportunity because the people are going to want to see it, people are going to be behind them."

Watch the full episode of The Schmozone Podcast below:

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