Islam
Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, has hailed one of his
students‘ ability to mimic Ian Garry
ahead of the upcoming welterweight title clash in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Makhachev (28-1) looks to defend his 170-pound championship for the
first time against Garry (17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Garry
is known for excellent distance management and long-range strikes.
However, Mendez already has who he believes is the perfect fighter
to emulate the Irishman’s style in their team.
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Islam Makhachev’s coach names ‘perfect’ Ian Garry training
replica
Mendez is confident that another one of his pupils, Usman
Nurmagomedov, can copy almost any style. The
American Kickboxing Academy head coach recently revealed that
the
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion is one of
Makhachev’s primary training partners, closely mimicking Garry’s
style.
A middleweight
title fight headlines PFL Austin: Tune on Saturday, July 18 at 8
p.m. ET on ESPN.
“[Usman] is the best sparring partner you want to have,” Mendez
told Submission Radio. “Usman’s at another level. People who have
never seen him should tune in to this kid. Because he is special…
Usman would be the one individual that can mimic almost anybody. He
would be the closest to Ian Garry for us.”
Nurmagomedov (21-0) is considered among the best fighters in the
world competing outside the UFC. He will exhaust his current PFL
contract when he puts his lightweight title on the line against
Archie
Colgan (13-0) on July 31 at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
His brother, Umar, is already a top-ranked bantamweight in the
UFC.