Javier Mendez has a message for Ian Machado Garry, who’s going to lock horns with Mendez’s pupil, welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, next month at UFC 330.
During a recent interview with NewBettingSites, Mendez opined that so far, there is no bad blood between “The Future” and Makhachev, as Garry has been saying all the right things in the buildup without crossing the line.
Trash talk is a part of the game and helps build hype. But it has its limits, and according to the AKA head coach, ‘family, country, and religion’ should always be off-limits, and Garry must keep this in mind; something his fellow Irishman Conor McGregor failed to follow before his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, after which things got super personal and ugly. Javier Mendez said:
“Between Ian and Ali, it’s good to build the drama and make it interesting for the fans. Garry is doing all the right things and saying all the stuff to make the fight more interesting – without going overboard of course. Regardless of what is being said, they have to get in the cage and fight. I’m fine with trash talk. As long as it has nothing to do with the country, family, or religion.”
He added:
“There are zero similarities to Conor vs Khabib. Unless Ian starts disrespecting family and religion or country, but I don’t see him doing that or Islam doing it either. It’s a fight between them, and I feel like if they want to include me and Khabib, that’s fine. We are fair game; we are trainers and part of the team. They should leave everyone else alone though.”
Ian Machado Garry is not known for playing the heel. He’s always shown respect for Makhachev, admitting that the pound-for-pound king is the best fighter on the planet and very skilled, but he knows how to dethrone Makhachev, and once he does, he will be crowned the greatest fighter alive on the planet.
Check out Ian Machado Garry’s comments below:
At UFC 330, Garry won’t chase an early finish, as he has revealed in previous interviews. He wants to dominate for the first three rounds and then finish Makhachev in the fourth to prove to both fans and critics that he is the better fighter than the Russian in every aspect of the game.
Javier Mendez breaks down UFC 330: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry
Javier Mendez, while breaking down the UFC 330 main event: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry, added during the same interview that he believes the fight will go the full five rounds and Makhachev will win every stanza.
“The fight will go the full five rounds. We will win all five rounds. That will never change – never.”
Mendez refused to predict the outcome of the welterweight title clash and explained why he doesn’t want to make a prediction or call for an early knockout or submission:
“I’m not doing my fighter justice by putting something that is not realistic in my mind. It’s not to say that Islam can’t finish the fight earlier, but I just don’t want to do that. Look at what happened to Ilia Topuria. He predicted all types of outcomes for his fight, and the next thing we know, he is sitting there with a broken orbital bone and is bleeding everywhere. The bottom line is that what he said and what happened are two different things. Ilia Topuria wore that fight all over his face, whereas Justin Gaethje didn’t.
“I don’t want to fall into those traps as a fighter; you’re always having to dig yourself out. Don’t feel it’s a gravy train. Maybe it worked for him most of the time, but that one didn’t.”
