Islam Makhachev has had a dominant UFC run with an impressive 15-1 record inside the promotion. He will be defending his UFC lightweight title at UFC 302 against Dustin Poirier.
The fight was announced after Poirier’s KO victory against fellow lightweight contender Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299.
However, after Justin Gaethje’s win against Poirier at UFC 291 many believed that he would be next in line for the title. But this was not the case, the UFC decided to matchup “The Highlight” vs Max Holloway at UFC 300 for the BMF title. The fight resulted in an all time classic bout. The fight ended with Holloway getting a last second knockout against Gaethje. This saw Holloway Crowned as the new BMF champion, whilst also halting Gaethje’s Title aspirations.
Islam Makhachev’s Coach Praises Gaethje
Islam Makhachev’s long term coach Javier Mendez recently stated on his podcast that he believe Gaethje is Islams “biggest threat”. Mendez has had plenty of praise for Gaethje.
“Yeah, to me, the guy out of all the guys that I thought for us stylistically was very dangerous out of all of them, I thought it was Justin Gaethje,” Mendez said on his YouTube channel. “Stylistically because of his wrestling pedigree and his striking is really good, strong.
“It’s all apples and oranges right? Because everybody brings a different skillset, so I thought that he was the biggest threat for us and now he’s probably never going to be in the picture for us going forward. So, no need to talk about him for us as a threat because he’s never going to be there, I think.”
Qoutes Via MMA Junkie.
Gaethje Going Nowhere
Even though in the past Gaethje has hinted at retirement. He has stated on the Dan LeBatard Show that he will be taking some time off to let his body and brain heal. In doing so he can come back 100 percent for his next fight.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
