Renowned
American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendes recently
discussed potential opponents for his charge,
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Islam
Makhachev, following his upcoming rematch with Charles
Oliveira at
UFC 294.
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While Makhachev (24-1) has expressed a desire to move up a weight
class and face the winner of Leon
Edwards vs. Colby
Covington for the welterweight strap following the rematch with
“do Bronx,” his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently revealed that
Justin
Gaethje would probably be next in line for a lightweight title
shot following an impressive knockout victory against Dustin
Poirier at UFC 291.
While Mendes is happy to take on the aforementioned fights, there
is one that the AKA head coach would prefer for his Dagestani
pupil. In a recent interview with Helen Yee, the San Jose,
California,-based trainer elaborated:
“So, in a perfect world, What I would like is what Islam wants
because he wants the champ-champ status, so Colby would be the one
I would pick, only because of that reason. But, if you’re asking
me, the one I really want back, I want to go with Alex
[Volkanovski] because I know Islam is going to do much better in
the rematch… We won the first one, but I want it to be crystal
clear. So, I want that one for that reason.”
Makhachev and Alexander
Volkanovski last met inside the Octagon at UFC 284 in February.
While the lightweight champion managed to secure the unanimous
decision victory, some believed the Australian had done enough to
become a two-division champion.