Islam Makhachev’s coach explains why Jack Della Maddalena is a tougher matchup than Ilia Topuria

Javier Mendez, the head coach of Islam Makhachev, believes his fighter is taking the hardest fight possible.

Makhachev vacated his lightweight title to move up to welterweight to face Jack Della Maddalena. It’s an intriguing matchup, but after Ilia Topuria won at UFC 317, many fans want Makhachev back at 155lbs to face Topuria.

Makhachev vs Topuria is arguably the biggest fight in the UFC, but Mendez doesn’t think it’s the hardest. Instead, he believes Della Maddalena is a tougher fight for Makhachev than Topuria at lightweight would have been.

“JDM is the tougher one because of, No. 1, the size,” Mendez said to Submission Radio. “No. 2, he’s good everywhere. If it was just boxing, then we don’t have to worry as much because JDM’s boxing is not as good as Topuria’s. But overall, his kicking, his knees, his overall game is very good.”

Although Javier Mendez thinks Jack Della Maddalena is the tougher fight against Islam Makhachev, many fans want to see the Ilia Topuria fight at UFC 317. But, Makhachev will be going up to welterweight to face Della Maddalena next time out.

Islam Makhachev’s coach believes Arman Tsarukyan will give Ilia Topuria problems

With Islam Makhachev set to move up to welterweight, Ilia Topuria will have to fight someone else next time out.

Topuria has been linked to Paddy Pimblett, Justin Gaethje, and Arman Tsarukyan. It’s uncertain who he will fight, but Mendez believes Gaethje and Tsarukyan could give Topuria problems.

“I see Justin Gaethje potentially giving him some problems,” Mendez said. “Arman Tsarukyan would be the one that, in my opinion, might give him the most problems because Arman’s not going to stand with him. Arman’s going to make it a grappling war, so it’s going to be a war of attrition.

“Can Ilia survive the continuous ground attack that Arman’s going to put on him? That would be the test. Can he do that? I don’t know. Maybe he can. Look what he did to Charles. Charles came in for the takedown, he freaking switched it on him in midair. That was very impressive,” Mendez added.

For now, Topuria became a two-weight champion, while Makhachev will look to accomplish the same feat in his next fight.