The coach is confident that Makhachev will defeat Oliveira

AKA head coach Javier Mendez has no doubts that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev would confidently beat the reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

“I think they both could beat Oliveira. From a stylistic point of view, Makhachev could have kicked perfectly. Khabib has never been successful at this. I know that Khabib would have dominated Charles. In my opinion, no matter how great Charles is, I think that Islam also dominated the fight with him,” Mendez said on his podcast.

Oliveira made his first title defense at UFC 269 on December 12, defeating Dustin Poirier by submission in the third round. The Brazilian's next opponent is expected to be Justin Gaethje.