Islam Makhachev shocked the MMA world with a dominant victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, claiming the UFC lightweight title to his name. A lot of MMA pundits had considered ‘Do Bronx’ as their favorite to retain the lightweight title. But, Makhachev overturned all predictions inside the Octagon and proved his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, right once again.

There is hardly anyone who knows the strengths of Makhachev better than Nurmagomedov. Just like the previous time, ‘The Eagle’ also gave out his prediction for the upcoming UFC 284 bout of his bosom friend. But, Makhachev’s opponent, Alexander Volkanovski, and his camp don’t seem to be very concerned about Nurmagomedov’s prediction. Recently, ‘The Great’s’ coach, Joe Lopez, gave out his own prediction about how his disciple’s bout might unfold. Despite lauding Makhachev’s capabilities, he also talked about how things might not go the way Nurmagomedov had planned.

Joe Lopez implied that Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prediction may fall flat in a moment

Recently, Lopez appeared on the noted YouTube podcast, ‘Submission Radio’ hosted by Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shukratov. Rowolski threw the question at him stating, “I’m curious, as a coach, what did you make of like such a bold assessment and you know in general the analysis of the fight?”.

He also wanted to know his opinion about Nurmagomedov “almost kind of giving away the gameplan” structured by Makahachev. ‘The Great’s’ coach was quite confident about his victory as he stated, “We’re gonna get our hand raised in the end”.

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Lopez also laid stress on how an MMA fight is totally unpredictable. He countered ‘The Eagle’s’ prediction as he said, “You can say one thing. The game can change when somebody else is kneeing you and trying to do something to you”.  He further stated, “Looking at his things, everybody’s beatable you know”. His words clarified his opinion that his disciple was well equipped to beat ‘The Dagestani’ at UFC 284.

He also provided his insights on ‘Volk’s’ training routine stating, “The way Alex is training at the moment and the guys he’s training with, I mean he’s just dominating some of those guys, it’s scary stuff you know”.

READ MORE – UFC Legend Says Khabib Nurmagomedov Left His Fighters Hanging: “… An End to Eagle FC!”

Lopez also lauded Makhachev’s skills stating, “He’s a formidable opponent, he’s got great wrestling”. He also stated, “I’m looking forward to a great fight,” which implied that he adjudged the fighters to be pretty evenly matched up.

What exactly had Khabib Nurmagomedov predicted?

Previously, Nurmagomedov had predicted that Makhachev would dominate Volkanovski, taking the fight to the ground and eventually submitting him. Nurmagomedov stated that Makhachev’s 20 years of wrestling experience won’t be manageable for ‘Volk’.

He also stated that Volkanovski only had the time of 5-6 months to prepare for Makhachev’s superb wrestling, which wasn’t enough to stop his bosom friend. ‘The Eagle’ appreciated the boxing prowess of ‘The Great’, but still foresaw a win for his pal Makhachev.

Watch this Story – End of Khabib’s takeover in MMA

The MMA community has already got divided prior to the Lightweight Championship bout between Makhachev and Volkanovski. After ‘Volk’s’ coach’s counter to Nurmagomedov’s prediction, which one are you placing your money on? Makhachev or Volkanovski?