American Kickboxing Academy founder and head coach Javier Mendez has shared his thoughts on the potential Lightweight Championship showdown between Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor and Charles ‘Du Bronx’ Oliveira.
Mendez has coached some of the best fighters in the world. Including newly inducted Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov. As well as the current ranked #4 UFC Lightweight, Islam Makhachev. So it comes as no surprise highly regarded as one of the best coaches in the world.
During an interview on Submission Radio, Javier Mendez stated, “old Conor McGregor would have been a problem for Du Bronx“
Mendez says, “I think the old Conor [McGregor] gives anybody challenges. The new Conor that I’ve seen within the last three fights, no, I don’t see him doing very much to Charles [Oliveria].” The statement comes from Mendez after Oliveira declared he wanted Conor in his next title fight. Rather than Javier’s top prospect Islam Makhachev.
It seems McGregor is back training at his long-time gym SBG Ireland. After a series of Instagram posts by the former Double Champ were released. The Irishman has been out of action since July 2021, when he suffered a brutal leg break during a trilogy fight with rival Dustin Poirier.
With no fight booked and already a year layoff, does Javier have a point? The Irishman hasn’t been victorious inside the cage since a TKO victory over recently retired scrapper Donald ‘Cowboy Cerrone in January 2020. He then dropped back-to-back losses to two-time title challenger Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier.
To add to the troubles, McGregor now sits at #12 in the Lightweight rankings, with the division staying active and young emerging fighters breaking through. The UFC’s biggest star by far, but can a ranked 12 fighter fight for gold coming off two losses? If one man can, it would be Conor McGregor.
Conor has other options should the UFC decide to stick to the ranking system for their championship matchups. The first one that comes to mind is the Nate Diaz Trilogy. They both heads into that match-up 1-1, and the first two were instant classics. Nate also has just one fight left on his UFC contract.
Another fight rumoured is at 170lbs in Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal. Gamebred also sees himself on a losing skid. After losing to Pound for Pound king Kamaru Usman twice. Then bitter rival Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. Jorge states he is in the top three earners in the UFC, so with Conor being the top spot. This fight makes sense for fans and the company alike.
Who do you think Conor McGregor should fight next? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
