"He has good takedown defense" - Khabib Nurmagomedov claims Islam Makhachev won't underestimate 'tough' Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 49

Khabib Nurmagomedov has provided a brief preview of Islam Makhachev's upcoming fight against Bobby Green at UFC Vegas 49. 'The Eagle' claimed that Makhachev and the rest of his team certainly won't underestimate Green.

At this weekend's UFC Vegas 49, Makhachev was initially scheduled to fight top-ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush. However, the American-Iranian fighter injured himself heading into the weekend and was forced to withdraw at the very last minute.

In a recently uploaded breakdown video of Nurmagomedov on the Young 'n' Faded MMA Society YouTube channel, 'The Eagle' praised Green's skills as a veteran and also took note of his solid takedown defense. Nurmagomedov said:

"He's a tough fighter. He's very experienced, he has good takedown defense. Also, he just recently fought, so it's not like they rang him on 9 days notice. He fought last week. He'll just have to cut weight again, and even regarding that, I think it was smart of him to say, 'If you want me to fight, make it a catchweight 160 lb fight'. To not cut too much," said Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The former UFC lightweight champion added that there won't be any underestimating from Makhachev's side. Khabib and Makhachev have also had long conversations regarding Green.

"There will be no underestimating from our side. Islam and I have had long discussions about him, watched his fights. Bobby Green won't be underestimated, because he's a very interesting, psychologically strong, tough fighter."

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's breakdown of Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green [2:45-4:10]:

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Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez recently spoke regarding the Bobby Green fight happening at catchweight

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Javier Mendez was asked why Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green is happening at a catchweight of 160 lbs.

The AKA coach claimed that Green probably didn't want to shock the body on such short notice and noted that his management team did a smart thing by taking the fight at a catchweight.

"I have no idea. I would imagine based on the fact that he's taking this fight on short notice, and he pigged out. He'd probably not want to shock his body. Himself or his management did a very smart thing... So he probably pigged out after his fight and enjoyed himself. A much-deserved enjoyment, you would say."

Watch Javier Mendez's interview with Submission Radio:

A win over 'The King' could set up Makhachev for a future title shot, possibly against the winner of the Justin Gaethje vs. Charles Oliveira championship bout.