CanadaCasino<\/a>, Mendez said:<\/p>\nDaniel Cormier should have quit after Stipe eyepoke like Tom Aspinall did<\/p>\n
Both Cyril Gane and Aspinall should be given the chance to redeem themselves<\/p>\n
Khabib and I would love to train Jake Paul and make him a success in MMA\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom Aspinall isn\u2019t the UFC\u2019s main guy \u2013 he should consider boxing\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom Aspinall should build his boxing career to 12-0 then face Anthony Joshua<\/p>\n
Islam Makhachev is unbeatable at Welterweight<\/p>\n
JDM is a formidable opponent but Makhachev is bigger, stronger and more confident\u00a0<\/p>\n
JDM is a way better striker than Ilia Topuria \u2013 potential p4p fight at White House is not a distraction for Makachev<\/p>\n
Team Khabib\u2019s Javier Mendez: Daniel Cormier should have quit like \u2018warrior\u2019 Tom Aspinall,\u00a0 Jack Della Maddalena \u2018better striker\u2019 than Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev is looking \u2018unbeatable\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daniel Cormier should have quit after Stipe eyepoke like Tom Aspinall did<\/p>\n
What Ciryl Gane did was accidental. People are missing the whole thing. Why should he try to fight half-blind to please the fans? What\u2019s that going to do for his family? What\u2019s it going to do for his legacy? No, he absolutely, 100% took the right call by saying the truth: \u201cI can\u2019t see.\u201d And when he can\u2019t see, you cannot, as a referee or a doctor, continue to let the fight go. The guy was telling him he couldn\u2019t see. From what I hear, and I\u2019m not saying I know, from what I hear, he\u2019s still having trouble seeing now.<\/p>\n
When Daniel Cormier got poked in his third fight with Stipe Miocic, Daniel couldn\u2019t see. When the doctor came up to Daniel and asked, \u201cCan you see?\u201d He said \u201cyes\u201d. He couldn\u2019t, then he couldn\u2019t even see for a few days afterwards because the poke was so bad. So I know firsthand. That\u2019s DC, that\u2019s the dog in him. When he\u2019s in a fight, he\u2019s that dog, he\u2019s that guy. He\u2019s not quitting for anything. But it\u2019s not the smartest thing. But look what happened to Daniel. Yes, he fought on, but he was half the fighter, as far as seeing. So it wasn\u2019t a good thing for him to have done that. I would have preferred for Daniel to do the same thing Tom did to make an equal playing field. Who wants to fight injured like that? How is that fair? How is that fair to these people who get accidentally eye-poked or intentionally eye-poked, and then they\u2019re not the same, and now they\u2019re cowards because they backed out? I say bullshit. Tom Aspinall is a real warrior. I don\u2019t see anything being diminished. It was an eye poke.\u00a0 It\u2019s just one round. It wasn\u2019t over. No way am I going to say that he was going to get beat. He was working. Tom could have ended the fight at any second. The next round could have gone Tom\u2019s way completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both Cyril Gane and Aspinall should be given the chance to redeem themselves<\/p>\n
It\u2019s extreme to say Gane should be disqualified or banned, he should be able to fight next week if he\u2019s physically able to.\u00a0 It\u2019s bad enough he got an opportunity that could have gone his way, taken away from him. That\u2019s punishment enough. Let the guy have his another chance, let him fulfill his dream of trying to capture that title. And let Tom get redemption for people thinking he\u2019s a quitter because he\u2019s not.<\/p>\n
Khabib and I would love to train Jake Paul and make him a success in MMA\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the team voted him in, he would be allowed to train with them. However, that hasn\u2019t happened yet, so I can\u2019t definitively say yes or no. He is a serious boxer and athlete who should be taken seriously. If he decides to pursue it seriously, I believe he can succeed. From the beginning, I\u2019ve told everyone that he\u2019s not like his brother Logan Paul, who focuses on WWE style. Jake Paul takes boxing very seriously and makes the most out of it.<\/p>\n
Jake Paul is good for MMA, as he creates more eyeballs. He would take it seriously; he wouldn\u2019t do any of the \u201cbullshit things\u201d some other fighters do. He would be serious and committed. However, I seriously doubt he\u2019s going to want to do MMA because, realistically, the money is bigger for him in boxing. So I would think he wouldn\u2019t. In order for him to get attention, he would have to find a marquee individual to fight in MMA, maybe Dillon Danis would be a good market for him. On the ground obviously Dillon will tear him apart. But on the stand-up Jake rips him apart.<\/p>\n
Tom Aspinall isn\u2019t the UFC\u2019s main guy \u2013 he should consider boxing\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think Tom isn\u2019t their man. I just believe that boxing allows its stars to earn significantly more than UFC stars. So, if they\u2019re discussing boxing next, it\u2019s simply about the money. There\u2019s just more money in boxing, and if you\u2019re a big name, you can make a lot of money in boxing. Tom has a big name, and he would make a lot of money in boxing. I think that\u2019s what his father is implying; he knows how good his son is at boxing. I would ask, \u201cWhat do you want, Tom?\u201d If he says, \u201cI want to box,\u201d then I would advise him to pursue that. If he says, \u201cI just want to be in the UFC,\u201d then I would tell him to do that. It\u2019s about what the fighter wants. If you\u2019re asking me which would make more money, obviously, I\u2019m going to say boxing.<\/p>\n
Tom Aspinall should build his boxing career to 12-0 then face Anthony Joshua<\/p>\n
No. I like watching boxers go up the ranks and build their careers. If he built a career to 12-0, then that fight [with Anthony Joshua] would be interesting, but without knowing what he could do in boxing, as a fan, I wouldn\u2019t be as interested.<\/p>\n
Islam Makhachev is unbeatable at Welterweight<\/p>\n
Based on what I\u2019m seeing in the gym, I believe Islam is unbeatable right now. I don\u2019t see a hole in his game, yesterday [during sparring] I was so amazed with him that, yeah he\u2019s unbeatable, he\u2019s covered every angle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s definitely stronger and more compact. He hits harder. Yesterday he went through three sparring partners. I was shocked. One couldn\u2019t go more than two rounds, he said, \u201cI\u2019m done, I\u2019m done!\u201d so we had to put in somebody else at the very end. Islam\u2019s a beast right now and needs to be a beast to beat this very, very tough opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Islam needs very little direction. He\u2019s the total package in terms of mental aspect, game planning, and taking care of his body, he\u2019s perfect. He listens to all his coaches and is the prototype for the best fighter. He\u2019s almost like Cain Velasquez, with one exception: Islam knows when his body is breaking down, and he\u2019ll tell you. Cain would not say anything until he breaks.<\/p>\n
JDM is a formidable opponent but Makhachev is bigger, stronger and more confident\u00a0<\/p>\n
This guy is very formidable in all areas and he\u2019s also not lost in quite a while, it\u2019s a hell of a streak and he\u2019s only getting stronger. And then he\u2019s got the mental edge knowing he feels like the bigger guy. But here\u2019s a question I want answered myself, let\u2019s wait until he weighs-in, lets see who is the bigger guy then. Maybe we\u2019re not too far off of him.\u00a0 But what I do know is that Islam is not the Islam of old,\u00a0 he\u2019s bigger now, stronger, more confident and he hits a lot harder now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
JDM is a way better striker than Ilia Topuria \u2013 potential p4p fight at White House is not a distraction for Makachev<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never called Topuria the best striker, just the best boxer, and I stand by that. The guy has incredible boxing for MMA. I\u2019m not saying he could go out there and win a world title in boxing now; that\u2019s a whole different animal. But his boxing is really good.<\/p>\n
If you look at someone like Jack Maddalena, who we\u2019re fighting, he\u2019s not a boxer like Topuria, but he\u2019s a better striker because he can do everything, meaning he can kick; he can knee, he can do everything really well. He\u2019s not as polished as a boxer. The technique, the technical aspect, he\u2019s got really tight boxing skills.<\/p>\n
The White House talk is not a distraction at all. Islam is focused on the task at hand. If he wants to be on the White House card, which I\u2019d love for him to be, he\u2019s going to have to get past Jack. If he doesn\u2019t get past Jack, I seriously doubt there\u2019s going to be a White House card [for us]. He\u2019s going to need to beat Jack.<\/p>\n
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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, and Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and is also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He\u2019s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer. He\u2019s also the main photographer for the 4CornersMafia Car Club.<\/p>\n
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