Islam Makhachev emerged victorious at UFC 302 as he stopped Dustin Poirier via submission in round five of their fight. The champ now has three title defenses to his name and is hoping to capture gold at 170 pounds too.
Although Makhachev outclassed Dustin Poirier on the ground as well as the feet at UFC 302, many were concerned about his staph infection going into the fight, including former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
McGregor, as usual, didn't hold back. In a now-deleted post on X, he went as far as to call Makhachev an "inbred" and attacked his entire team.
Makhachev confirmed that he indeed had a staph infection going into UFC 302, but his coach Javier Mendez is delighted by the attention McGregor gave to the team and has already imagined the best-case scenario for the UFC lightweight champion.
Javier Mendez Wants Conor McGregor to "Get Beat" By Islam Makhachev
While talking to Red Corner MMA following UFC 302, Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez was asked about the media's reaction to the staph infection. The coach claimed that Makhachev was not on antibiotics to cure the staph infection and his performance was unaffected.
He further talked about how McGregor bashing Makhachev has more positives than negatives, and he would love to see a fight between the two in the near future.
It's kind of funny how little simple things, people notice, and you know, change things. Like Conor, goes and starts a rant, starting to create drama, you know, with Islam, which is kind of good because Conor is the kind of guy you want to root against or root for regardless.
"Everybody wants to see him. Me, I want to see him get beat by Islam. So, for me, him doing what he's doing is causing a lot of attention. So, you know, there (would) be nothing better for me and Khabib than to have Islam have a fight with him somewhere down the line.
Mendez seems unaffected by McGregor's banter on X and even praised the Irishman for being observant enough to bring up the staph infection. However, as per the coach, the health problem was already three weeks old by the time McGregor highlighted it and it wasn't going to change the outcome of the fight.
A fight between Makhachev and McGregor could become a possibility if the "The Notorious" beats Michael Chandler at UFC 303 and gets a lightweight title shot.