Islam Makhachev’s coach pinpoints Ilia Topuria flaw that could decide blockbuster fight

When asked how he would approach preparing a fighter to take on Topuria, Mendez said on Know Time podcast: “I would say with him, stay out of boxing range, 1 million percent.

“He’s got the best boxing in the business in MMA. He even thinks he can beat [Terence] Crawford, that’s how confident he is in his boxing.

“Your big task is to keep him away from you. And he’s got decent wrestling. From people I’ve spoken to who have trained with him, he’s got decent jiu-jitsu also.”

The only flaw in Topuria’s game, according to the man who coached Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Luke Rockhold, is related to his kicks.

“So, he’s almost the complete package, but he’s not; he lacks in the kicking area.

“The weakest link on him would be the kicking area, and then you have to test your grappling with him to see if yours is better than his. We’ve yet to see how great it is. It’s not great, but we’ve yet to see how good it is.”

Ilia Topuria’s UFC 322 warning

Ilia Topuria v Islam Makhachev is one of the biggest fights the UFC could make right now.

But everything hinges on what happens at UFC 322. If Jack Della Maddalena manages to pull off a surprise win, the whole matchup could fall apart.

Topuria has already made it clear that if Makhachev does not win the welterweight title, their highly anticipated bout will not go ahead.

“If Islam loses, he can return to Dagestan, to his farm, and continue herding sheep,” Topuria said at a recent press conference in Georgia.

“If he wins, I will definitely rise. Definitely, 100 percent.”