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UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev is a rare talent and is often compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov. According to AKA head coach Javier Mendez, Makhachev held his own against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in training.
In an appearance on the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast, Mendez recalled the time Islam Makhachev threw Luke Rockhold around during a grappling session. Mendez claims he initially asked Rockhold to go easy on Makhachev, but what transpired before his eyes left him completely baffled.
After the session, Mendez even asked Rockhold if he intentionally let Islam Makhachev throw him around, but to his surprise, the former champ said he didn't.
"I remember when I had Islam go with Luke Rockhold and I told Luke 'hey, go easy on him, don't go crazy' and he goes 'oh no, I'm not going to' and so they went at it and they went at it pretty decent but you could tell Luke was not going as super hard and next thing you know, Luke is flying, Luke is thrown and I'm like 'what the hell did I just watch?' I said 'Luke, did he just throw you?'. Luke goes 'yeah' and I go 'did you tell him?' and he says 'no, I didn't let him but I'll be ready for him next time,'" said Mendez.
Catch Javier Mendez's appearance on the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast below:
Islam Makhachev has a big challenge in front of him at UFC 267
Islam Makhachev currently has his sights set on UFC gold as he goes up against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 267. If he manages to get past RDA, Islam Makhachev may be fighting for the title next.
After the fight was booked, the Brazilian claimed Makhachev accepted the October date because he didn't want to take a five-round fight against him. In an interview with ESPN, dos Anjos stated the following:
"Islam doesn't want to fight five rounds. That was my request, but it didn't work out. So, fine. Let's do three then. He's been talking a lot of crap -- let's see who is who now. I'm ready to go. This is a title eliminator [in] my eyes."
Luke Rockhold is set to return to the octagon in a middleweight encounter against Sean Strickland at UFC 268 in November. The last time Rockhold stepped inside the octagon was back in 2019 against Jan Blachowicz.
