After Humiliation Faced Last Year, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Coach Expects a “More Motivated” Charles Oliveira for Islam Makhachev Fight at UFC 294

Charles Oliveira earned a title shot within a year after he lost his lightweight belt to Islam Makhachev. Oliveira and Makhachev would come face-to-face for the second time at UFC 294. The bout between the two has the potential to blow the roof off the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. During their first showdown, Oliveira tapped out in the second round to an arm triangle choke from the Dagestani fighter. The bout also resulted in Oliveira losing his lightweight title to Makhachev.

Now, ‘Do Bronx’ has earned a golden opportunity to earn back his belt. It was his knockout victory against Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 that took him to the title shot. Now, Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s coach, Javier Mendez, has come forward to share his thoughts about the upcoming showdown between his student Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. He strongly believes that a major change has happened to Oliveira after his last loss against Makhachev.

Javier Mendez is expecting a highly motivated Charles Oliveira

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, recently sat down with Submission Radio. During the chat, Mendez detailed his thoughts about the bout between Makhachev and ‘Do Bronx’. Mendez believes that the upcoming bout will be totally different from their previous bout. He said, “I don’t think it’s the same fight because they never are, they’re always different you know and I think there’s more motivated Charles, highly motivated and remember last time Charles was talking about ‘I don’t care he takes me to the ground I you know let him.’”

He continued, “So he didn’t care anything about being taken to the ground. It was not a big concern whatsoever and for this fight here, I don’t think that he’s going to be thinking that. He’s not going to be thinking ‘go to the ground I don’t care’. I think he’s going to be thinking ‘I don’t want to go to the ground.’” Mendez believes that after all the humiliation that Oliveira faced after his first loss against Makhachev, a lot of changes would have happened to him.

Mendez is expecting a different fight altogether

During the same interview, Mendez also opened up about his thoughts on Oliveira. He states that Oliveira is a smart fighter with great people around who can support him to fight better this time. Mendez believed that things were going to take a new direction this time and that the Brazilian fighter’s team would come up with a different game plan. Furthermore, he also added that, as the coach of Makhachev, he and the team are also trying to come up with a different strategy.

READ MORE: “He Should Earn It Like Volk Did”: Fans Ask Islam Makhachev to Set “New Goals” After His Coach Revealed the Future Plans of the Lightweight Champ

Mendez made it clear that they are not assuming that it’s easy to defeat Oliveira like the last time. According to the coach, it is hard to predict how the bout will turn out, as anything can happen in an MMA bout. However, he strongly believes that things will go in Makhachev’s favor. What are your thoughts about the bout between Makhachev and Oliveira? Do you think that Makhachev is going to win again? Let us know in the comments below.

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