Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez agrees with Khabib Nurmagomedov that Jack Della Maddalena will be the toughest opponent of Islam's career thus far.
As we know, Islam Makhachev has vacated his UFC lightweight championship in order to pursue a world title in a second weight class. He'll be doing so up at welterweight, and in all likelihood, he'll be facing Jack Della Maddalena for the belt - the current world champion.
Recently, Khabib Nurmagomedov noted that he believes Jack Della Maddalena is a tougher opponent for Islam Makhachev than Ilia Topuria.
As it turns out, Javier Mendez agrees with that theory, saying the following when it comes to Islam Makhachev's chances in the bout.
Javier Mendez’s thoughts on Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena
"I'm going to have to one million percent agree with Khabib, I think this is our toughest test," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "This is my and Khabib's biggest responsibility to make sure we get Islam in tip-top shape and ready to do what we think and what we believe he will do, and that's win, but it's not going to be easy.
"If we make it look easy, it's because we were properly prepared, and Jack just happened to give us what we needed, but this is by no means a walkover fight. This is a really tough fight, and we have immense respect for Jack and their team and what they can do."
"I think what makes JDM so dangerous No. 1 is he's unbeaten for quite a while," Mendez said. "He's had quite a long win streak, and the fact that this guy mixes it up extremely well. He goes to the body, to the head, and he doesn't just stick to head hunting. He mixes it all up. He goes body, punch, then also the kick comes.
"With him, his takedown defense is really, really good also. So, we are not in a situation where we can think we're going to go to the ground. No, we got to see what he's going to give us, and probably we're going to have to make him give us something because I don't know if he's going to. He's really that good."
Quotes via MMA Junkie
