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Islam Makhachev’s coach thinks a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski is inevitable, especially after this past weekend.
At UFC 290, Volkanovski turned in another stellar performance, dominating Yair Rodriguez to retain his featherweight title. It was Volkanovski’s first fight back since losing a decision to Makhachev in their lightweight battle at UFC 284, and aside from reasserting “The Great” as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, it also got coach Javier Mendez excited about the rematch with his charge.
“It was one of those fights where Alex proved how great he is by what he did,” Mendez said on his podcast. “He adjusted. He did something he normally doesn’t do. He was getting out-struck on the range fighting, so he changed the script to being the wrestler, and he could wrestle, and he proved he could wrestle. So he took Yair down and he thoroughly dominated him on the ground.
“It wasn’t until he hit him with the right hand, that right hook, and then he pounced on him. … That was a beautiful display of a guy that’s super smart, great IQ. Let’s see what happens. Let’s see if they give him to Islam or they give someone else to Islam. But somewhere down the line, we’re going to have to fight him again and I look forward to it because it’ll be a great fight. Definitely after that performance.”
Though nothing is official, at the moment all signs point to Makhachev defending his lightweight title at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, however, the opponent is still up in the air. Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira seemed to be the most likely contender, however, “Do Bronx” recently declared he would not be ready to compete in October, and Mendez says that the champion is unlikely to accommodate any request to push back that fight until later in the year.
“Oliveira is talking about how he wants to fight in November or December,” Mendez said. “Well, he’s not going to get to decide when he fights for the title. The UFC decides that. I believe they’ve got Islam scheduled on Oct. 21 because they need him for Abu Dhabi. I believe that’s 100 percent the fight that makes sense for Islam to stay there. Who the opponent is? I don’t know. It could be Oliveira still. Oliveira could say, ‘Never mind, I’ll fight him in Abu Dhabi.’ I don’t know.”
With that in mind, Volkanovski could slot into another lightweight title shot sooner than expected, particularly since after his win on Saturday, Volkanovski said that he wouldn’t rule out making a quick return to rematch Makhachev, despite needing minor surgery. But whether it happens in October or somewhere down the line, Mendez believes a rematch is destined to take place, and when it does, Makhachev’s coach says that it will be just as good as the first go around.
“When that fight happens, we’ve got our work cut out for us. Both of us do,” Mendez said. “Remember, it’s no cake walk for them. You’ve got two fighters that can switch many different ways. It isn’t like Islam can’t stand with Volk either. He definitely can. And it isn’t like Volk can’t survive the ground either. He definitely can. He proved that. So we both can change. We’ll see what happens. It’s just one of those things, when that fight does happen, and I’m expecting it to happen at some point, it’s going to be epic. It’s going to be one of those second fights between champion vs. champion that delivers again. It will deliver again.”
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