Ilia Topuria has been on a roll in the UFC after winning two titles in two separate divisions. He has steamrolled through almost every opponent, and his last three wins, which came against a few certified UFC legends, have propelled him to the top of the sport. However, Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, revealed that there is one big flaw in Topuria’s game that has held him back from becoming a “complete package.”

There are often conversations about who’s the most complete fighter in the UFC. The consensus GOAT, Jon Jones, does come up in that conversation, and so does Islam Makhachev, but, unfortunately, Javier Mendez doesn’t think Topuria fits on this list because of the lack of one aspect in his fighting style. Here’s what the renowned coach had to say.

Islam Makhachev’s coach points out Ilia Topuria’s lack of kicking during fights

MMA is all about combining all the best aspects of combat sports. Ilia Topuria has everything covered when it comes to boxing, and Javier Mendez is convinced that standing in front of him and trading punches is not a wise decision for any fighter against ‘El Matador’. “Ilia Topuria, I would say, with him, stay out of boxing range. 1 million percent… He’s got the best boxing in the business in MMA,” Mendez stated on the Know Time podcast.

If you’re wondering how someone beats Ilia Topuria, Javier Mendez has advised to use kicks because wrestling won’t help either, as Topuria excels at that as well. You’d be surprised to know that ‘El Matador’ has yet to throw a single head or body kick in his UFC career, and that appears to be his kryptonite because opponents, such as Jai Herbert, have gotten the better of him and put him in troubling situations with their kicks. If Topuria can manage to get better in that department, he may very well get on the list of the most complete fighters.

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“Muay Thai would be a good specialty, but your big task is to keep him away from you, and he’s got decent wrestling. And so he’s also got, from people I’ve spoken to that have trained with him, he’s got decent jiu-jitsu also,” Javier Mendez added. “He’s almost a complete package, but he’s not. He lacks the kicking area. So the weakest link on him would be the kicking area, and then you have to test your grappling with him to see if yours is better than his.”

Well, some fighters may not be complete, but they can come out on top even with the lack of a certain aspect in the fight game. Ilia Topuria, despite having no kicking game, has been doing that since he stepped inside the Octagon for the first time. He’s been very confident in his claims about his chances of beating Islam Makhachev, and guess what? A UFC legend also shares the same sentiment.

Dustin Poirier believes in Topuria’s ability to beat Makhachev

Dustin Poirier took Islam Makhachev to the limit when they fought, even though he fell short and tapped out in the fifth round. Having shared the Octagon with the Dagestan native, ‘The Diamond’ claims that Ilia Topuria could struggle against Makhachev due to the size discrepancy. But since ‘El Matador’ has been laying waste to everyone in his path to the top, Poirier believes that there’s a chance that he does the same to the former lightweight champion.

“I have never seen Topuria in person, but if he can make 145, dude—Islam’s a big guy. I think he is going to be a lot bigger than Topuria,” Dustin Poirier said a few months ago during an interview. “But that being said, Topuria is an assassin, and I believe he can knock out anybody from 145 pounds to 170 pounds.” 

Ilia Topuria is not even in his 30s, which means that he still has time to grow and evolve more as a fighter. It’ll be interesting to see how he progresses with the title around his waist in the coming months, and if we’ll ever get to see him share the Octagon with Islam Makhachev to end the debate about who’s the better of the two. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.