Exclusive with Javier Mendez: Topuria’s Strength Over Oliveira

Legendary MMA Coach Javier Mendez – notably known for his work with UFC Lightweight champions Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, has backed former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria to beat Charles Oliveira and become a two weight world champion at Lightweight.

He also states that longtime rival Paddy Pimblett isn’t ready for Topuria just yet and reflects on former student and UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and his current prison stint – calling for a possible pardon.

Speaking to Genting Casino – who offer the best Live Casinos, Mendez said:

Paddy Pimblett is not ready not Ilia Topuria

Ilia Topuria ‘will be stronger’ than Charles Oliveira at 155 lbs

‘He moved for a reason’ Topuria will stronger without coach Climent

The UFC need starpower like Conor McGregor 

Umar Nurmagomedov ‘not about getting after Merab’ – we need to win the next one

In other countries Cain Velasquez would have been presented with a medal – not jail time

Exclusive with Javier Mendez: Ilia Topuria will be stronger than Charles Oliveira at 155 lbs, Paddy Pimblett is not ready for Topuria and Cain Velasquez deserves a medal for his actions – not jail time

Paddy Pimblett is not ready not Ilia Topuria

I think Paddy’s fantastic. I love watching him. He’s the real deal. Bobby Green to me was not easy for anybody, and the way he did to Bobby Green, I was very impressed. 

And then, of course, Michael Chandler has basically put him in that position to show that he’s the real deal, whoever’s going to fight with him, is going to have a tough fight.

I think Paddy can beat anybody on any given day, he’s good enough to beat anybody, but I don’t favour him against Topuria. But do I think he could win? Yes, absolutely.

Ilia Topuria ‘will be stronger’ than Charles Oliveira at 155 lbs

I think we’re all missing one key point. Topuria was having a heck of a time making weight at 145, that’s why he’s gone up because the weight’s killing him. 

He’s not tall in stature, but he’s wide, he’s almost like Volkanovski, so those guys carry a lot of weight for their size. So yeah, the weight is not going to be the issue. He might even be stronger than Charles.

I want Charles to win, but I think Topuria might just edge him out. But I’m not going to be shocked if Charles gets a shocking win because he’s capable of doing that.

‘He moved for a reason’ Topuria will stronger without coach Climent

I don’t think it’s a big deal [Topuria changing coach] because he already lived far away, so unless the coach was willing to go over there which I don’t think he was. It’s just the way it is.

I don’t think that’s going to change anything. It might even make him stronger, because he’s more comfortable. He doesn’t have to worry about his coaches.

How can I get my coaches here and this and that? I think he’s fine. He’s settled into what he needs to do. He moved for a reason.

The UFC need starpower like Conor McGregor 

The biggest criticism that I’m hearing about the UFC is that there’s not enough stars, so they’re struggling at times. I think Alex Pereira losing, I think that that hurt him some. 

 I think the biggest stars they have are Jon Jones and Islam, that’s my opinion. I think they’re the biggest, but you need to have more.  You need to have another Conor in there. You need to have more individuals that have that kind of power. But right now I think it’s not super deep.

Umar Nurmagomedov ‘not about getting after Merab’ – we need to win the next one

He [Umar] needs to evolve for sure [before facing Merab again]. Umar wants whoever’s the champion when they give us another opportunity but we’re not about getting after Merab. 

We’re just about getting the title. That’s what the young eagles plan is, it’s never been about Merab. Sure, if we can get Merab, it’s good to get the opportunity. But we have to win the next one. We have to win.

In other countries Cain Velasquez would have been presented with a medal – not jail time

What happened to him was not something he was able to control. It was like a road rage situation, and it was scientifically proven that he couldn’t control his impulsivity, and he couldn’t control what he did. 

He had no thought process, zero thought process – impulsivity and zero thought process. And that’s something that you can build. But you have to go through therapy to build that back up. 

So it’s just like a road rage situation. People get road rage. They freak out, and they just can’t stop themselves. Well, that’s what happened with him. 

When a traumatic thing happened to his child. He lost it, so he wasn’t thinking, because any man with his capabilities would rather make sure the guy looks at his face when he does it to him. 

 He needed rehab. He didn’t need jail time. He needed to be with his family, and unfortunately the system didn’t see it that way. I think almost every other country would have gotten a medal.

++ENDS+

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.

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