If Islam Makhachev is victorious at UFC 322, Javier Mendez eyes two big fights for him.
Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) will look to claim a second belt when he challenges welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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Mendez agrees with Makhachev on former five-time defending UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (21-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) being the ideal first title defense.
“The one guy I think probably deserves it more than everybody, based on his title run when he was the champ, is Kamaru Usman,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “Look what he just did with (Joaquin) Buckley. He stopped the hype train, and did it in impressive fashion. So I would think that his hat has got to be in there as a contender for that title. His title run, being the greatest welterweight of all time, in my opinion, has got to be in there, too.
“For us, it would suck because we care a lot about the guy, but it’s a business, and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Even Belal (Muhammad), it is what it is. We didn’t want to fight Belal, but what if Belal wins and we win, and all of a sudden we get offered a fight with him? It’s going to be up to the fighters to decide, but it’s going to suck for us on both of those, if any of those happen.”
If not Usman, Mendez wants to see the highly anticipated super fight between Makhachev and UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria materialize.
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“If you’re asking me what the fans are going to want to see, I’m going to have to go with Topuria,” Mendez said. “If we manage to get the win like we’re expecting and wanting to, I would think that Dana (White) is all about creating the most, biggest buzz, and I think the biggest buzz is Topuria if he goes up in weight – if that’s what happens. So right now, I can see so many different scenarios happening, but those two are the top of the list, in my opinion.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Islam Makhachev’s coach names top two options for first title defense
