Khabib Nurmagomedov recently gave his thoughts on one of the biggest fights of 2025.
A reference to Islam Makhachev was all it took for the Nelk Boys to face the power of Ilia Topuria during their recent live stream.
For many fans, this potential matchup is still at the top of their most-wanted lists but for the time being, they’ve gone their separate ways.
Makhachev and his team have set their sights on Jack Della Maddalena as they prepare to challenge for the welterweight title after vacating the lightweight belt.
While a clash between the current and former 155 pound champions would be huge, Nurmagomedov recently claimed that it wouldn’t be Makhachev’s toughest test.
Javier Mendez agrees with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s assessment regarding Islam Makhachev vs Jack Della Maddalena
Speaking in an interview on the Hustle Show, Khabib Nurmagomedov said that in his opinion, Jack Della Maddalena will be a tougher test for Islam Makhachev than Ilia Topuria.
He stated that a combination of the welterweight champion’s size, boxing and scrambling ability makes him “more concerned” about this matchup than a potential fight with Topuria.
Javier Mendez, who has been in the corner of both Nurmagomedov and Makhachev, has echoed similar viewpoints in the past, believing that Della Maddalena is a more difficult puzzle to solve.
He spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about the recent comments from ‘The Eagle’ and how he thinks the former champion has hit the nail on the head.
‘JDM’ may not have the same profile or run of spectacular knockouts but it’s clear that Makhachev’s team are preparing for a huge test for later this year.
“I’m going to have to one million percent agree with Khabib, I think this is our toughest test. This is my and Khabib’s biggest responsibility to make sure we get Islam in tip-top shape.
“I think what makes JDM so dangerous is he’s unbeaten for quite a while. He’s had quite a long win streak, and the fact that this guy mixes it up extremely well. He goes to the body, to the head, and he doesn’t just stick to head hunting. He mixes it all up. He goes body, punch, then the kick comes. With him, his takedown defense is good also.”
Javier Mendez says Islam Makhachev laid out his welterweight goals several years ago
In the same interview, Javier Mendez spoke about when Islam Makhachev first told him about wanting to move up to welterweight.
A lot of fans were disappointed to not see him face Ilia Topuria as a result of this decision but it’s clear that the Russian had his eyes set on competing at a new weight class for some time.
Mendez claims that the lightweight champion pitched him the idea of breaking the 155 pound title defenses record before going up a weight class after he successfully defended the belt for the first time at UFC 284 in 2023.
“This whole idea about Islam going up to welterweight was already in his mind before Topuria was even in the picture so this is not something that Islam was trying to avoid. No, he wanted the legacy fight.”
