Coach Javier Mendez Finally Confesses Whose Resume Is Better Between Islam Makhachev & Khabib After Statement UFC 294 Win

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev have a lot in common. Both are from the Dagestan province of Russia and have been training together since they were children under Khabib’s late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. They are childhood friends and grew up within minutes of each other’s homes. Both share the same strong wrestling game borne from their sambo backgrounds.

Seen as Khabib’s successor, Islam has rather large shoes to fill. And so far, he has done remarkably well. He has not lost a fight since an abrupt loss on his UFC debut against Adriano Martins in 2015 and defeated Charles Oliveira easily in their UFC 280 title bout. And his AKA coach, Javier Mendez, made some interesting remarks about Nurmagomedov and Makhachev after his UFC 294 victory over Alexander Volkanovski.

Makhachev coach on comparisons between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Makhachev

Javier Mendez spoke to Red Corner MMA’s YouTube channel after Islam Makhachev’s dominant victory over Alexander Volkanovski in their much-awaited rematch at UFC 294. He was asked if Makhachev had finally grown out of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s shadow.

Mendez, who is also Nurmagomedov’s former coach, had this to say. The Mexican-American stated that for him personally, he never saw Makhachev as being in ‘The Eagle’s shadow. He sees all his fighters were their own as far as he is concerned.

“Well, for me, Islam was never in Khabib’s shadow. But I guess for people that were thinking, now he’s not. To me, he never was, he has always been Islam. He’s his own fighter, Khabib is his own fighter, you know. Umar [Nurmagomedov] is his own fighter. None of these guys are in each other’s shadow, I feel,” he told the interviewer.

Mendez thinks Makhachev has distanced himself from Nurmagomedov

But he did say that he could see why people would have perceived Makhachev to be in the former lightweight champion’s shadow. As Nurmagomedov was the more well-known fighter. However, with his UFC 294 performance, Makhachev has proven himself to be perhaps the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC, according to Mendez.

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“But, yeah, I can see how people [could]. He’s the more famous [fighter]. But I think, from that point of view, I think maybe you’re correct. Maybe now he’s distanced himself as a different breed, and 100% you can say he’s the best lightweight at the present time,” he said.

Makhachev has made a compelling case for being the pound-for-pound number-one fighter in the UFC. Having beaten the No. 2 P4P fighter in Volkanovski, he can reasonably be expected to move up to at least number two on the list. Do you think Islam Makhachev should be ranked at the top of the P4P rankings after UFC 294? Let us know in the comments section below.

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