Javier Mendez, Islam Makhachev’s coach, doesn’t think Alexander Volkanovski’s loss to his fighter made him less of a champion. For Mendez, doubts over “The Great” due to his age are nothing more than just doubts.
Volkanovski will be defending his belt against Ilia Topuria this Saturday at UFC 298. However, as the event approaches, many in the MMA community express concern for the champ, fearing it might be the end of Volkanovski’s era by fighting an undefeated young fighter.
Meanwhile, others’ doubts arise from Volkanovski’s loss to Makhachev at UFC 294, where the Russian ended the fight with a first-round KO through a head kick and punches. The Australian, nonetheless, brushes off the matter and remains confident in delivering a new win in his division.
Mendez is taking Volkanovski’s side about this, saying his loss to Makhachev didn’t change anything.
“He’s not over the hill,” Mendez said on The Javier Mendez Podcast. “The thing is, people are saying, ‘Well, after the fight with Islam, he took that kick,’ you know. I don’t think that one kick is going to change who he is, you know.”
Despite that, Mendez admitted that Volkanovski won’t have an easy fight in Topuria, whom he sees as better technically. Yet, the Mexican coach noted that in terms of championship battles, Volkanovski is a well-tested bet.
“On a technical side, Topuria, technical,” Mendez said. “Because Alex- he’s got holes in his game on a technical. So from that perspective that, but from, you know, championship rounds, Alex all the way, come on. How many championships round has he had? Four-year reign where he was destroying everybody, the only fight where he really had close was the first one with the Hawaiian, you know, Max Holloway, the first fight, that’s the only one that he really had a- where I thought he might have lost.”
