Makhachev would accept Holloway fight, says AKA coach Mendez after UFC 329

Javier Mendez, head coach at the American Kickboxing Academy, says UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev is open to fighting Max Holloway following Holloway’s victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 329 on July 11. Mendez told Submission Radio that neither man would refuse the matchup if the UFC pushed for it.

Holloway, known as “Blessed”, defeated McGregor at welterweight, though the rematch ended in anticlimactic fashion after McGregor suffered an early injury — an outcome that effectively ended what had been a potential path toward a Makhachev vs. McGregor mega-fight.

“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,” Mendez said. “You can’t cross Max out in any competition because he’s game. 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.”

Holloway had already made his intentions clear before UFC 329, publicly stating his desire to fight Makhachev. That ambition has not dimmed despite Holloway suffering a loss to Charles Oliveira earlier this year, in which he was beaten and thoroughly outgrappled by the Brazilian.

Mendez acknowledged his own disappointment that a Makhachev vs. McGregor fight is now highly unlikely following the injury at UFC 329. “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,” he 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.”

With McGregor’s route to a title shot effectively closed for now, a Makhachev vs. Holloway bout at welterweight emerges as one of the more compelling matchups the UFC could make at 170 pounds.