Islam Makhachev will be more than comfortable 'going to the ground' with Charles Oliveira, according to his head coach Javier Mendez.
Next month, the surging Makhachev will lock horns with Oliveira in the main event of UFC 280, which takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The winner of Oliveira vs Makhachev will be crowned the new UFC lightweight champion after the belt was made vacant following the Brazilian's controversial weight miss prior to his fight with Justin Gaethje.
Makhachev, 31, has been on an absolute tear in the UFC over the past few years after suffering a surprise defeat to Adriano Martins in 2015.
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The Russian has stopped each of his last four opponents in his last five fights and will be hoping to continue that incredible run of form against the dangerous Oliveira.
UFC News - Islam Makhachev's coach makes big statement ahead of Charles Oliveira fight
Islam Makhachev is a longtime training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov
And according to Makhachev's coach Mendez, the Dagestan native will be happy wherever the fight goes.
“Well, first of all, he’s gonna take him down," he said during an appearance on Submission Radio. “It’s just a matter of when, but he will take him down, and Charles is not gonna be able to stand.
"If Islam doesn’t want to stand, he will not, he’ll be taken down. He is second to Khabib in being able to take people down, and he will go down. Charles will go down.
"Charles is not known to be a wrestler. Also, keep in mind, Charles has got such a phenomenal jiu-jitsu game.
"In MMA, in pure jiu-jitsu, he’s probably got the best game in the lightweight division. So, why would he be afraid to go to the ground? He’s not.
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"He wants to test himself there with Islam. And by all means, we’re fine with that too.
“The bottom line is, the thing about this fight is, wanna stand up? Okay, let’s go. Going to the ground? Okay, let’s go. So, we’ll see who can dominate where when that time comes.
"But we’re prepared to dominate in the standup, we’re prepared to dominate on the ground. And they are too. They’re well prepared. He’s a champion for a reason.”
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