Islam
Makhachev's coach, Javier Mendez, has hailed one of his
students’ ability to mimic Ian Garry
ahead of the upcoming welterweight title clash in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Makhachev (28-1) looks to defend his 170-pound championship for the
first time against Garry (17-1) at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Garry
is known for excellent distance management and long-range strikes.
However, Mendez already has who he believes is the perfect fighter
to emulate the Irishman's style in their team.

Islam Makhachev's coach names ‘perfect' Ian Garry training
replica

Mendez is confident that another one of his pupils, Usman
Nurmagomedov, can copy almost any style. The
American Kickboxing Academy head coach recently revealed that
the
Professional Fighters League lightweight champion is one of
Makhachev's primary training partners, closely mimicking Garry's
style.

A middleweight
title fight headlines PFL Austin: Tune on Saturday, July 18 at 8
p.m. ET on ESPN.

“[Usman] is the best sparring partner you want to have,†Mendez
told Submission Radio. “Usman's at another level. People who have
never seen him should tune in to this kid. Because he is special…
Usman would be the one individual that can mimic almost anybody. He
would be the closest to Ian Garry for us.â€

Nurmagomedov (21-0) is considered among the best fighters in the
world competing outside the UFC. He will exhaust his current PFL
contract when he puts his lightweight title on the line against
Archie
Colgan (13-0) on July 31 at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
His brother, Umar, is already a top-ranked bantamweight in the
UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion Islam
Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, claims his pupil is open to a
fight against Max
Holloway.

This comes after Holloway's win at
UFC 329, where he faced Conor
McGregor at welterweight. “Blessed†emerged victorious, albeit
with their rematch ending in anticlimactic fashion as McGregor
suffered an early injury. Mendez believes that neither Makhachev
nor Holloway would refuse a matchup against the other.

Javier Mendez discusses a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Max
Holloway UFC matchup after UFC 329

Ahead of his UFC 329 bout on July 11, Holloway expressed his desire
to fight Makhachev. Despite being beaten and thoroughly outgrappled
by Charles
Oliveira earlier this year, Mendez knows that Holloway will not
stop pursuing a fight with the current 170-pound king. He also
believes that his fighter would not back down from the challenge if
UFC pushes for it.

“Whatever the UFC wants to do, Islam's going to say yes and Max is
a legend and he doesn't back down from anybody… You can't cross Max
out in any competition because he's game,†Mendez told Submission
Radio. “Whether he does well or not, well, I don't know. But he's
game for it, so you can't ever cross him out. He's got the mind of
a warrior and the mindset of a champion, so he's up for any
challenge, I feel.â€

‘I wanted that fight': Javier Mendez on potential Conor
McGregor fight for Islam Makhachev

A McGregor victory could have strengthened the possibility of a
future bout between the Irishman and Makhachev, but that matchup is
now highly unlikely. The
American Kickboxing Academy coach further expressed that he was
disappointed with the result of UFC 329's headliner.

“Bummer. I mean, I wanted that fight because, look, listen, we as
coaches, we live for those moments to have an opportunity to be
with something like that, that magnitude,†Mendez said. “I've been
fortunate enough to have quite a few of them, so to have another
mega fight like that around the corner, potentially, that would
have been a great honor.â€

Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Paulo Costa
didn't like the short-notice fight offer against Magomed
Ankalaev.

Ankalaev was originally scheduled to fight Khalil
Rountree in the main event at
UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
However, Rountree pulled out due to an injury and has been replaced
by Uzbek contender Bogdan
Guskov. Costa has now revealed he was in the running to take on
the former light heavyweight champion.

Paulo Costa discusses UFC negotiations and short-notice Abu
Dhabi offer

Costa (16-4) recently revealed that he, too, was approached by the
UFC to replace Rountree against Ankalaev. However, “Borrachinhaâ€
turned down the offer as it was too short notice to fly to Abu
Dhabi for a five-round fight. Costa also claims he was not offered
any extra incentive to accept a tough matchup against a former
champion.

“They called yesterday,†Costa told Ariel Helwani. “But I think
it's so short notice, like less than 14 days, to get a flight to
Abu Dhabi. 16-hour flight to Abu Dhabi, five rounds, for the same
money, and not even for an interim belt. I don’t think this makes
sense right now.â€

Costa has recently been calling out the UFC for not offering him a
fight despite him being ready. The Brazilian believes the
short-notice booking against Ankalaev was offhandedly offered to
him as a result of his recent demands. However, the former UFC
middleweight title challenger didn't like the way the negotiations
were handled. Costa notes that the UFC has often pushed away its
top talents, like former heavyweight champion Francis
Ngannou, due to failed negotiations.

“The way they handled these negotiations, I don't think it's the
best way,†Costa added. “I think they push good talents away from
them. They create a distance; they create beef between fighters and
the guy who negotiates. We have seen this in the past. Francis was
one of these guys. They pushed so hard; they pushed him away and
gave him to big events like MVP.â€

“Hey I have a great deal for you: NON TITLE Fight in 13 days short
notice, Abu Dhabi, 5 rounds , same money, nothing better,†he wrote
on X.

Costa is coming off back-to-back wins over Roman
Kopylov and Azamat
Murzakanov.

Hey I have a great deal for you: NON TITLE
Fight in 13 days short notice , Abu Dhabi, 5 rounds , same money ,
nothing better. 😅

Me: I love u too 🥰 https://t.co/Dn7uYJUuEE

— Paulo
Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA)
July 13, 2026