Islam Makhachev‘s coach says he’s not running from anybody… certainly not Charles Oliveira.
Former champ Oliveira is set to return against Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator at UFC 300. Months before the booking, the Brazilian was granted a title opportunity against Makhachev at UFC 294. Unfortunately for Oliveira, he’d had to withdraw due to a cut and Makhachev instead fought Alexander Volkanovski a second time.
Since then, Makhachev has pushed for a fight with BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje instead of former foe ‘Do Bronx’.
‘It’s Clear That [Makhachev] Doesn’t Want To Fight Charles Again’
After not getting a title shot right off the bat, Oliveira’s coach and manager Diego Lima believes Makhachev wants nothing to do with a potential rematch.
“Makhachev is great, he’s the champion for a reason. The guy is really good and has all the merits, but I think it’s clear that he doesn’t want to fight Charles again,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “He wants out of this fight any way possible. It’s more than clear. Not taking anything away from him, let’s be real clear here, but I think for all he’s doing, ‘I’d rather fight this guy or that guy, I’ll move up a division.’”
“Honestly, I don’t think none of that will happen. I think the winner of this fight will fight Makhachev. There’s nothing else. There’s nowhere to run. I really believe that’s the fight. If you look at Gaethje’s last six fights, if you look at [Dustin] Poirier’s last six fights, if you look at [Beneil] Dariush’s, there’s no one else for him to fight. It’s Charles.
“In my opinion, it’s clear that he doesn’t want to fight Charles,” Lima repeated. “Not taking anything away from him, it wasn’t Charles that night. We won’t take anything away from him, but everybody saw it. It wasn’t Charles’ night. It was Makhachev’s night, and if they fight again, I’m sure it will be a whole other fight.”
Coach Mendez Chimes In
Makhachev’s long-time coach Javier Mendez has addressed this narrative from team Oliveira.
“Islam does not choose his opponents,” Mendez said on his podcast. “He may say, ‘I want this. I want that’. I want this. And and, yeah, he’s trying to create a narrative maybe. But regardless, whoever the UFC chooses, they choose. Charles’ people are saying that Islam is avoiding them, [claiming] he doesn’t wanna fight them… He’s not avoiding anybody.
“Does he wanna fight Charles? No,” Mendez said of Makhachev’s intentions. “He wants new blood absolutely, he said. But, will he fight, Charles? Absolutely. Whoever the UFC says ‘fight’, he’s gonna fight. He’s gonna fight whoever they put in front of him. Who he prefers to fight, that’s what he prefers to fight. That doesn’t mean he won’t fight whoever they say he’s gonna fight.”
Makhachev ‘Not Afraid Of Anybody’
This isn’t the first time Mendez has had to deal with a claim like this. Before Makhachev knocked out Volkanovski at UFC 294, ‘The Great’ accused the champion of running away from a rematch. Mendez said in response that Islam ‘runs away from nobody’ and the coach still believes that to this day.
“He’s not running from nobody,” Mendez reiterated. “He’s not afraid of anybody. He’s pound-for-pound #1. He shouldn’t be afraid of anybody. When there’s a champion, you fight everybody. That’s the attitude I have. That’s the attitude Khabib [Nurmagomedov] has.
“That’s the attitude Islam has, but that doesn’t mean he can’t ask for who he would like, who he wants. Just because you ask doesn’t mean you’re gonna get it.”
As for what Islam Makhachev wants, we’ll see if the UFC Lightweight Champion obtains a title defense versus Justin Gaethje.
