MMA
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former trainer hints at preferred opponent for Islam Makhachev
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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former trainer is looking to set up Islam Makhachev with Dustin Poirier for his next fight.
Both Makhachev and Poirier are regarded as some of the best fighters at their weights and they have often been suggested as potential opponents for one another.
Speaking to King Casino Bonus, Javier Mendez sees plenty of options.
He said: “Nothing has been signed, Dustin Poirier is only a rumour at this stage. I can tell you Islam has been training for a fight, but we do not have a fight yet.
“I do know Islam will be fighting soon because I'm going to Dagestan soon to train him. We are getting ready for a fight, we just don't have confirmation yet who or when yet, he'll be back in either June or July.
“We can say that Dustin is in the hat, we can also say the other top guys are in the hat, but let's see what happens at 300 and who the UFC offers the fight to.
“It may be Dustin, Justin [Gaethje], [Charles] Oliveira, or [Arman] Tsarukyan, it could even be Holloway, it will be one of those five.
“But I kind of like the Dustin one, Dustin was talking about Islam and Islam responded, so I like the banter, the back and forth, there's already history there, so I like the storyline with Dustin.”
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