‘Idiot’ Islam Makhachev’s Coach Recalls Cain Velasquez Getting ‘Split Open’ To Determine Mistake In Charles Oliveira’s Camp

Injuries are a painful but unavoidable part of being a mixed martial artist. And sometimes they can force fighters to miss out on an opportunity. And much can change because of one fight in a sport as unpredictable as MMA. Dricus Du Plessis had to refuse a UFC 293 title bout against Israel Adesanya, which had considerable hype and build-up behind it.

Now Du Plessis has moved back in line and will fight (with far less hype) for the title, at least after Khamzat Chimaev. Many feel Paulo Costa, much bigger than Chimaev’s UFC 294 opponent Kamaru Usman had a good shot at beating Chimaev based on the Chechen’s performance. Costa was originally supposed to face ‘Borz’ at the Abu Dhabi card, but pulled out less than two weeks before the fight. However, it has seemingly not affected Charles Oliveira‘s prospects according to Dana White.

Islam Makhachev manager on how Charles Oliveira got injured

In a conversation with Submission Radio, Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez spoke about Oliveira getting injured ahead of the main-event rematch against Makhachev at UFC 294. He expressed sadness over the Brazilian’s injury and missing the title shot. He speculated it was a result of ‘Do Bronx’ training hard and not wearing headgear.

“I think Charles is going to have to get on that horse. I think it’s a sad thing that he missed that great opportunity… I don’t know how he got that cut. But I think that he was probably not wearing headgear,” Mendez said. The AKA coach has also trained some of the greatest mixed martial artists such as Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He recounted how improper headgear usage led to one of his illustrious students missing fights.

Mendez recalls Cain Velasquez getting similarly injured in training twice

He revealed that former UFC heavyweight champion and his former student, Cain Velasquez had suffered injuries that led him to cancel fights on two separate occasions. He reiterated that this happened as a result of them not wearing headgear, which is why he advises everyone to wear headgear while training.

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“I make my guys wear headgear because it’s, like, for that very reason… Like it’s happened in the past. And it was Mike. Mike Kyle versus Cain Velasquez and Mike Kyle. So he wanted to take it off, and I said no and then I let it happen. And next thing you know, kaboom. Mike collided with Cain. Split open Cain,  fight cancelled. So I was like, I’m an effing idiot. And then one other time it happened with Cain. Cain sparred with somebody. I allowed them to spar with no headgear. Another split open,” he added.

Dana White has indicated in the post-fight press conference that Oliveira is still the next best candidate for Makhachev. Do you think Islam Makhachev should fight Oliveira next? Or would you like to see him move up to welterweight and fight the welterweight champion after UFC 296? Let us know in the comments section below.

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