Islam Makhachev’s coach doesn’t believe title fight with “biggest threat” Justin Gaethje will ever come to fruition after UFC 300

Islam Makhachev’s head coach Javier Mendez has given his thoughts on Justin Gaethje as a potential opponent.

At UFC 302, Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC lightweight championship against Dustin Poirier. Prior to Dustin’s recent win over Benoit Saint-Denis, however, he was knocked out cold by Justin Gaethje.

That led many to believe that ‘The Highlight’ would be next in line for a title shot. Alas, that’s not going to happen after he himself was knocked out by Max Holloway at UFC 300.

RELATED: Islam Makhachev explains why Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway at UFC 300 is a “useless fight”

In the eyes of Javier Mendez, Justin Gaethje posed a threat to Makhachev’s title reign that few others do.

Mendez’s Gaethje view

“Yeah, to me, the guy out of all the guys that I thought for us stylistically was very dangerous out of all of them, I thought it was Justin Gaethje,” Mendez said on his YouTube channel. “Stylistically because of his wrestling pedigree and his striking is really good, strong.

“It’s all apples and oranges right? Because everybody brings a different skillset, so I thought that he was the biggest threat for us and now he’s probably never going to be in the picture for us going forward. So, no need to talk about him for us as a threat because he’s never going to be there, I think.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Nobody can deny the immense impact that Justin Gaethje has had on the lightweight division. At the same time, a KO loss like that will almost certainly impact the trajectory of his career moving forward.

What do you believe is going to be next for Justin Gaethje? Do you think Dustin Poirier has a chance in his upcoming showdown with Islam Makhachev? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!