Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach sheds light on Islam Makhachev’s chillingly accurate prediction amid Ilia Topuria ducking talk

Islam Makhachev's two-division title aspirations have the chance to come to fruition against welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, a plan that is years in the making, according to his coach, Javier Mendes. Makhachev's expected clash with Della Maddalena has seen him vacate the lightweight title, shutting down a possible mega-fight with Ilia Topuria.

The former 155-pound champion has since been accused of ducking Topuria, with those accusations being dismissed by Mendez in a recent podcast.

The Spaniard surged through the UFC's featherweight division, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to win the belt. He then became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway when they clashed at UFC 308. His divisional dominance, combined with the grueling weight cut at 145 pounds, saw Topuria move to lightweight, hoping to secure a bout against Makhachev.

The Dagestani's move to welterweight was centered around whether his part-time teammate and friend, Belal Muhammad, retained the welterweight title against Della Maddalena at UFC 315. Muhammad was defeated, leading to Makhachev's move.

With accusations of the 33-year-old avoiding Topuria swirling the MMA world, Mendez recently discussed why those allegations were false. He shared Makhachev's prediction, which included him breaking the UFC lightweight title defense record, saying this:

"He told me, 'Coach, my goal is to win more titles here in the lightweight division, defend the title more. Then after that, if a welterweight title comes up I want to do that. I want to be double-champ.' I said, 'That's a great plan.' This is what's been at stake for him before we even knew who Topuria was. It had nothing to do with him." [5:54-6:15]

He added:

"He more or less [predicted] this many years ago before, right after he won the title, he told me this." [7:14-7:22]

Watch Javier Mendez discuss Islam Makhachev below:

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Islam Makhachev slams "nobody" Ilia Topuria after welterweight move

Islam Makhachev will move to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for his 170-pound title. As such, Ilia Topuria will compete against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317 on June 28.

Some fans and former fighters, such as Chael Sonnen, have criticized Makhachev's move to welterweight. The Dagestani fighter has now spoken out regarding the Topuria situation, writing this:

"Difference between me and you, that I cleaned top list in my division, moved to next. But you ran away from two contenders who had consecutive 5-9 wins in FW division. You are nobody in LW division, just a big mouth from Spain.."

Check out Islam Makhachev's post about Ilia Topuria below: