The lightweight division is red hot right now. Atop the mountain is the champion Islam Makhachev, and just within reach is Arman Tsarukyan. A few steps below is Ilia Topuria. However, the problem with these two names is that they won’t fight for the title next. Topuria just entered the division and will need at least one win to get to the title. Same for Tsarukyan as he lost his chance at the title because of a last-minute pull-out due to a back injury before UFC 310. So who will Islam Makhachev face next for his fifth (and possibly final?) lightweight title defense? Team Khaib’s head coach Mendez feels Justin Gaethje fits the bill.
The founder and head coach of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) recently sat down for a chat on the Javier and Mo Show where he shared why facing Gaethje comes with its own advantage. Coach Javier Mendez said, “To me, Justin Gaethje is the one I want. He’s the logical one for me. We fought him already, yeah we know. So he’s the best one for me to want to fight. He’s a logical choice.”
While coach Mendez stated that Islam and Khabib have somewhat similar styles on the ground, he iterated the fact that they’re different fighters. And looking in from the outside, we couldn’t agree more considering Islam Makhachev is an incredible striker with five knockout wins on his record. Key moments in his career include the knockdown of Charles Oliveira leading to the arm-triangle finish at UFC 280 and the head-kick KO of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294.
But it doesn’t matter for Justin Gaethje and he’s made it clear that he is ready to take on anyone in the division. Considering he’s in for one last title run, and with Dana White possibly green-lighting that fight considering he beat Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, he might just get a chance to shoot his shot. Now with team Dagestan approving for the fight, it will be interesting to see what happens next. But there’s one problem if the pair do clash next in the division. ‘The Highlight’ has previously fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 and probably has an idea of their game plan.
Although the 36-year-old lost the fight, he can carry his experience this time into the Makhachev fight. Will this be a problem for team Dagestan? It doesn’t quite seem so, at all even. For Javier Mendez, both pioneer and protegé (Khabib and Islam) are vastly different from each other and there’s no way Gaethje can game plan for one and replicate it with the other. In a recent interview the 54-year-old pointed out the problems Islam Makhachev can cause to Justin Gaethje.
Islam Makhachev will be a completely new challenge for Gaethje feels Mendez
The former BMF title holder has faced some outstanding fighters in the lightweight division. However, his biggest challenge to date has been the former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ ended his career with a record of 29-0, his last victim being Justin Gaethje. While the former is now retired from the sport, the latter is eyeing a title shot against Islam Makhachev. The current lightweight champion is following the footsteps of his mentor but has far more skills than ‘The Eagle’, given his high-level striking. The difference in their styles is what will make the fight with Gaethje even more interesting, feels coach Mendez.
The AKA gym head coach feels Makhachev’s striking is an asset that will cause many problems for ‘The Highlight’. While speaking to ‘Submission Radio’ during an interview he said, “It [a Makhachev vs. Gaethje fight] definitely in my opinion, would play out differently [than the Khabib vs. Gaethje fight] because they’re not the same fighter”.
He further pointed out the difference between them and said, “They’re not the same fighter. Islam is more well-rounded than Khabib ever was, you know. So Islam is at the point where he’s pound-for-pound number one because he’s well-rounded in all the areas. Khabib was not as well-rounded as Islam is in the striking”.
Will the lightweight champ choose to stand and trade with Justin Gaethje more than necessary? Well, why not? He’s got the skills to play on the feet, doesn’t he? In a way, Gaethje mirrors Makhachev. ‘The Highlight’ has an elite wrestling background but chooses to strike. The lightweight champ is similar, except he chooses to grapple and has incredible submissions. So if the fight on the feet gets too hot for Islam Makhachev, he can always choose to grapple with Justin Gaethje. The question is, will he be able to take the NCAA Division-1 wrestler down?
Khabib Nurmagomedov might have the answers to that. For now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens. What do you think of this matchup? Do you think Justin Gaethje will get the title shot next? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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