Islam Makhachev’s Coach Reveals “Matador Style” Gameplan to Capture Welterweight Gold
Islam Makhachev’s coach wanted him to treat Jack Della Maddalena like the proverbial bull at UFC 322 and was pleased with how the Dagestan native implemented that approach to his recent performance.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Javier Mendez touched upon some of the big aspects of the UFC’s latest trek to Madison Square Garden. The biggest happening saw his charge Makahchev ascend to the tier of two-division UFC champions in history when he dominated JDM in the final fight of the night.
In terms of the corner advice he was giving toward the former lightweight champion who has now become the kingpin of 170 pounds, Mendez said,
“I kept saying, ‘Matador style. Matador style means evade, stay on the outside and maintain that distance because Jack, you know, a lot of people are not giving him the credit that man deserves. He’s a great fighter, man. And wait and see what the next person that fights with him—they’re thinking they’re going to do what Islam did to him.”
“Good luck. Good luck, that’s all I can say, because this guy protected himself on every submission attempt. He was well versed in submission defense—and he couldn’t get any offense going like he wanted to. But that’s because he had a great guy on him that was mentally ready for him.”
Islam Makhachev reacted to teammates brawling in the crowd with dillon danis at uFC 322
While Islam Makhachev had a massive moment inside Madison Square Garden that drew widespread attention on November 15th, a big brawl outside the confines of the cage drew a lot of eyes, too. Several combat compatriots from Team Eagle were on hand to support Makhachev in this seismic career moment, and a brawl erupted with Dillon Danis.
Danis and the Team Eagle fighters have long been interwoven in a feud together which dates back to the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov days, with tensions still clearly being quite high. In the post-fight press conference, Makhachev was of the opinion that if you take such a trash-talk-heavy route like Danis has, over the course of so many years, no less, eventually you will have to be held accountable for what you’ve stated.
