"He's so good everywhere, we don't care" - Islam Makhachev's coach not bothered about last-minute opponent change from Beneil Dariush to Bobby Green
Islam Makhachev's head coach Javier Mendez has revealed that they are not going to adjust their gameplan despite a last-minute opponent change ahead of his pupil's upcoming fight.
Makhachev was initially scheduled to fight Beneil Dariush in the headliner of UFC Vegas 49 this weekend. However, Dariush later pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by lightweight veteran Bobby Green.
Islam Makhachev vs Bobby Green!
This Saturday at #UFCVegas49! https://t.co/Ywwu0295tf
While Dariush is known for his grappling skills, Green is a prolific striker, so one would expect Makhachev to adjust his gameplan accordingly.
Mendez, however, claims that they are choosing to go in with the same game plan because of how well-rounded the Dagestani fighter is. He said they aren't worried about Green's stylistic differences with Dariush because Makhachev can adjust accordingly and deal with it during the fight itself.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, the AKA head coach said:
"The good thing about Islam is he's so good everywhere we don't care. There's no style change for him. He's ready to fight, that's it...We'll have one game plan intact but then we can change it. The beauty about having someone that's so well-rounded like Islam Makhachev is that I can change what we need to do depending on the opponent we're facing so I'm not worried about any opponent. We just have to give him the right game plan, he can follow any game plan."
Check out the interview below:
Javier Mendez believes title fight awaits Islam Makhachev if he beats Bobby Green
Does Islam Makhachev get a title shot with a win over Bobby Green? 🤔 https://t.co/CSzb3EnUlq
The fight between Makhachev and Dariush was set to determine the next challenger for the lightweight title. Now that Dariush has been replaced by Green, who's unranked, there's some doubt as to whether Makhachev will get a title shot if he wins.
According to Javier Mendez, Islam Makhachev is likely to fight for the title next if he wins against Green. He pointed out that the Dagestani is currently on a nine-fight win streak inside the octagon and deserves a title fight very soon.
"He beats Bobby Green, that's a nine or ten fight win streak. Who else has that? I think Islam Makhachev gets the title fight with the win with Bobby Green," Mendez said.