American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez admits that Beneil Dariush should be next in line for a title shot but says that’s not how the UFC works.
Mendez cornered another fighter to a championship when he helped guide Islam Makhachev to the lightweight title this past Saturday. Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) submitted Charles Oliveira in Round 2 at UFC 280 from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
On the same night, Dariush (22-4-1 MMA, 16-4-1 UFC) won his eighth fight in a row when he defeated rising contender Mateusz Gamrot. But after claiming the vacant lightweight title, Makhachev called UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) into the octagon to set up a possible showdown for UFC 284 in February, which Mendez says is the fight fans want to see.
“Now who is actually, in my opinion, more deserving from a true professional sport-sport? But this is not a true sport, this is entertainment-sport,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “So, from a true sport (standpoint), Dariush, he deserves it. He 100 percent deserves the next shot. But because this is an entertainment sport, the fans wanna see Alex and Islam go for it, because the pound-for-pound king vs. the new king in the lightweight division.
“Let’s see if the pound-for-pound king can take that lightweight title. Which, hey, he’s the pound-for-pound for a reason, right? He’s cleared out his division, and he keeps getting better and better. And what better way to have two guys that are actually gonna be professional all the way through. They got a great camp. I’ve spoke nothing but highly about who they are as a camp and how they are as a team, and I still stick by what I say.”
Although Makhachev himself called Volkanovski a small guy, Mendez dismisses the notion that the featherweight champion will be at a major size disadvantage against Makhachev.
“Why we like this matchup? Because he’s a great fighter,” Mendez said. “He’s a great fighter. What’s our advantages? Well, we’re taller, we weigh more. I think we’re better rounded all the way around. Is Alex negative on everything? Absolutely not. He’s got power, he’s a champion. He’s been winning. He’s regarded pound-for-pound No. 1. Man, he’s got all the confidence in the world. And look at the achievement of him being able to get two titles. Not many people can say that.”
He continued, “When he walked into that cage, I saw an extremely healthy, probably close to a 170-pounder, if not a little heavier. I didn’t see a 145’er walking to that cage to square off with (Makhachev). I saw a shorter, stocky, well built and great shape guy walking there. That’s the impression I got. So, for me, they both make 155. Is he a smaller version like Beneil said? Yeah. That we can have a slight advantage on that? Yeah. We’ll probably be five, 10 pounds heavier. I don’t think we’re gonna be much more than that come fight time. I think we’ll be five to 10 pounds.”
