Outside Source
Javier Mendez isn’t excited about Ilia Topuria’s lightweight plans.
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Topuria recently said that he might be done competing at featherweight after only one title defense. The undefeated champ wants to instead move up to lightweight and fight Charles Oliveira with reigning 155-pound title holder Islam Makhachev already booked for his next defense.
Makhachev puts his belt on the line against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. While Topuria has taken multiple shots at Makhachev in the recent past, Mendez, the Dagestani’s long-term coach, isn’t paying heed just yet. Mendez is more focused on Makhachev’s upcoming defense against “Ahalkalakets,” whom he already beat via a hard-fought unanimous decision in 2019.
Mendez also reiterated Makhachev’s double-champ aspirations with a possible move up to welterweight. At the end of the day, Mendez promises Makhachev will accept any opponent the UFC offers him.
“I’m not interested in that fight whatsoever at the present time,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “I’m more interested in him defending against Arman, and then let’s see what happens after that. Who knows, maybe the welterweight title is available at that particular time. I don’t know. But at the end of the day I’m just talking. The UFC is gonna make that decision what they want, and what they want is what’s gonna happen. So Islam is gonna say, ‘Yes,’ when the UFC says, ‘This is your next contender for your title.’”
However, there remains one primary impediment to Makhachev’s welterweight plans: reigning champ Belal Muhammad. “Remember the Name” is a proudly devout Muslim who shares a close bond with the entire Dagestani brigade and trains with them at regular intervals. According to Mendez, Makhachev will never move up to 170 pounds as long as Muhammad remains champion.
“100% it’s Belal. They’ll never fight,” Mendez said. “Just the brotherhood. They just won’t break that. And I don’t blame them. They’re not fighting for just anything. They do have their loyalty to each other. And Belal’s a brother and they won’t fight him.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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