Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev

DUBAI – Javier Mendez likes what he sees out of Islam Makhachev in his newly minted weight class.

Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) vacated his lightweight title for a move up to 170 pounds. He challenges champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 322 headliner on Nov. 15 from Madison Square Garden.

In June, Makhachev admitted to MMA Junkie that he's having a hard time filling into the welterweight frame. However, Mendez assures that Makhachev is now more than adjusted less than a month out from his fight.

"Unbelievable," Mendez told MMA Junkie of Makhachev. "When I came into camp, because I've been here in Dubai all this time, and I saw him for the first time over a month ago, and I'm looking at him like, 'What the heck?' I go, 'Wow! He's solid.' So I was very impressed with that, No. 1. I said, 'How do you feel?' He goes, 'Great, coach,' and I watched him train, I watched what he was doing, and I was so impressed.

"Then he did his first sparring, and I was blown away. I was blown away how good he got, how he adjusted to the weight. So I'm very confident in him, and regardless of what anybody says, he's still No. 1 pound-for-pound in my eyes. That's my guy. Pound-for-pound No. 1, Islam Makhachev, and the new version of him is coming, and he will be the new welterweight UFC champion."

Is is safe to say Makhachev's days as a lightweight are behind him?

"I don't know if he's done with lightweight, but to be honest with you, why struggle to make all that weight?" Mendez said. "He's solid. He put on a good 10 pounds since (July). He can make 155 again if he wanted to, but it's really going to be in his ball court. But let's face it: Jack is such a tough customer that if we overlook him, which we haven't, (we're in trouble).

"I've actually viewed Jack's fight with Belal (Muhammad) five times, and I've never really done that. That's how much I respect Jack. I rewatched him and said, man, we have our hands full with him. He is a tough customer, but I believe 1 million percent Islam is going to pull it off."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Javier Mendez 'blown away' by Islam Makhachev's transition to welterweight: 'He's solid'

Reporting by Farah Hannoun, MMA Junkie / MMA Junkie

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