Javier Mendez Doesn’t Think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria is the Play
In an interview with MMAJunkie.com‘s Danny Segura, Javier Mendez shared his belief that Ilia Topuria has some work to do before he can compete for double-champion status.
“(Ilia) is a great fighter, and he’s been doing well, but he (Makhachev) doesn’t need to fight him,” Mendez said. “That’s my opinion. I think Tsarukyan is a better choice. That’s what I think. Ilia needs to do more in his weight class. He wants to go up in weight and challenge for a second belt, but we want to do the same. And what happened? The UFC didn’t let us. We wanted to, but they told us to defend. What UFC tells us to do, that’s what we have to do. It doesn’t matter what you say, what we say, what Ilia says. What matters is what the UFC wants.”
Makhachev’s immediate focus is on Dustin Poirier. The two will collide for Islam’s UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of UFC 302 this Saturday night. The matchup will be held inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Keep it locked on BJPenn.com for live coverage.
