Islam
Makhachev’s longtime head coach has no issue with Ian Garry
trash-talking ahead of their upcoming title fight as long as the
Irish contender avoids certain subjects.
As Makhachev prepares to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown against Garry
in the UFC
330 headliner on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in
Philadelphia, Javier Mendez believes the pre-fight exchanges have
helped generate interest in the matchup.
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However, the
American Kickboxing Academy founder made it clear that certain
subjects are unacceptable.
Javier Mendez explains where Ian Garry should draw the
line
Speaking to NewBettingSites, Mendez praised Garry for
adding to the hype surrounding the upcoming welterweight title
fight without crossing the line. The veteran coach believes
country, family and religion should be completely off limits for
pre-fight trash talk.
“Between Ian [Garry] and Ali [Abdelaziz], it’s good to build the
drama and make it interesting for the fans,” Mendez said. “Garry is
doing all the right things and saying all the stuff to make the
fight more interesting — without going overboard, of course.
Regardless of what is being said, they have to get in the cage and
fight. I’m fine with trash talk. As long as it has nothing to do
with the country, family or religion.”
In the same interview, Mendez also dismissed any comparisons
between the upcoming bout and the heated rivalry between Khabib
Nurmagomedov and Conor
McGregor, as Garry has remained respectful unlike
“Notorious.”
“There are zero similarities to Conor vs. Khabib,” Mendez added.
“Unless Ian starts disrespecting family and religion or country,
but I don’t see him doing that or Islam doing it either. It’s a
fight between them and I feel like if they want to include me and
Khabib, that’s fine. We are fair game; we are trainers and part of
the team. They should leave everyone else alone though.”
Makhachev enters UFC 330 with a 28-1 professional record and will
attempt to make the first defense of the welterweight title he
claimed last year. A win over Garry (17-1) will see the Dagestani
break the UFC record for most consecutive wins.