Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez believes that there's a chance his student could beat Jack Della Maddalena on the feet as well as on the ground.
Over the course of the last few years, Islam Makhachev has ruled with an iron fist at the top of the UFC's lightweight division. Now, however, he'll be making the shift up to welterweight, in order to try and win a belt at 170 pounds to go alongside his accomplishments at 155. Of course, it's going to be easier said than done, especially because he'll have to defeat reigning welterweight king Jack Della Maddalena - which is no small task.
The expectation is that Islam Makhachev will challenge for the title later this year. When he does, many will back him to win, but we also know that JDM was the underdog against Belal Muhammad, and look how that turned out.
In a recent interview with Genting Casino - who offer the best Live Casinos, Javier Mendez spoke about the strengths of Islam Makhachev ahead of this fight.
Javier Mendez discusses Islam Makhachev vs JDM
“I used to let Islam spar with guys at that weight all the time, top guys at 170 lbs, and he beat them all. He's not going to have a problem at 170 lbs.
“185 lbs may be a little bit of a stretch because they're a lot bigger. But 170 lbs have never been a problem with him. I think Islam will definitely edge Jack out on the ground, but we may very well edge him out on the stand up also, so let's see what happens.”
“Jack’s such a tough customer that we can't analyze and think that we're better in one particular area. We're gonna have to prove we're better - and practice extremely hard - in all of these areas.”