"It's happened before" - Islam Makhachev's coach admits possibility of getting knocked out by Charles Oliveira, but confident Russian will "dictate" fight at UFC 280
Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez believes the Dagestani will dictate his upcoming lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira. According to Mendez, Makhachev is so well-rounded that he can choose to fight where he wants.
However, Mendez acknowledged Oliveira's capacity to end it all with one shot. Referring to Makhachev's first-round KO loss against Adriano Martins in his sophomore UFC outing, the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) head coach noted that it has happened before.
Mendez said in a recent episode of UFC Unfiltered:
"Islam is so well-rounded that, listen, if we wanna stand, we'll stand. If we wanna go to the ground, we'll go to the ground. But I can tell you this, Islam is gonna dictate where that fight's going... It's hard to say right now where we're gonna be comfortable but I can tell you, we're gonna control where it goes. Unless something happens, it always does. I mean it's happened before. If he gets knocked out. Which could happen, I'm not saying it can't. So obviously. And Charles has that kind of power and the skillset to be able to do that."
Mendez also believes that it'll only be a matter of time before Islam Makhachev takes 'do Bronx' down. However, the AKA coach also claims that his pupil has the skillset to stand back up if Oliveira makes him uncomfortable on the ground.
Watch Javier Mendez's comments at the 13:12 mark of the video below:
Islam Makhachev details what sets him apart from Charles Oliveira's recent opponents
Charles Oliveira finished his last three opponents in what were essentially title fights (Oliveira was stripped of his title ahead of his last fight). However, all three of his opponents managed to drop 'do Bronx' but failed to secure a finish.
Islam Makhachev believes Oliveira wasn't finished in his last three fights as his opponents were afraid to go to the ground after dropping him. However, a combat sambo champion himself, Makhachev isn't scared to grapple with the jiu-jitsu ace.
The Dagestani standout plans to knock Oliveira down and look for a finish with ground-and-pound. Islam Makhachev recently told The National:
"His last three or four opponents, they knock him down and nobody goes to grappling. Nobody tried to finish him there. Nobody tried to do some ground-and-pound. That’s why nobody from these opponents could stop him. But I’m not scared of his jiu-jitsu skills because I have good skills in sambo and grappling and will give him a hard time in striking. That’s why I’m going to knock him down and try to finish him."