Jack Della Maddalena’s rapid ascent has pushed Team Khabib into unfamiliar territory. On November 15, at Madison Square Garden, the Australian champ will defend his UFC welterweight title against former lightweight king Islam Makhachev at UFC 322—a bout officially announced by Dana White during a live Instagram session. On paper, it’s historic: Maddalena chasing elite standing, Makhachev hunting double-championship glory. But whispers of a KO in sparring have the Dagestani camp uneasy, and with good reason.

For Javier Mendez, Makhachev’s longtime head coach, this fight presents challenges that necessitate a change in strategy. Normally, Team Khabib does not spend much time stressing over opponents; their strategy is based on Makhachev’s brutal grappling and exceptional basics. But it seems like Maddalena is not your typical fighter.

JDM is a striker with precision, variety, and the patience to punish mistakes, so Coach Mendez has to study him much more attentively than usual. In fact, the head of Team Khabib openly admits that for the first time in years, he is watching tapes repeatedly to prepare the Dagestani phenom. Speaking on Submission Radio, Mendez broke down why Jack Della Maddalena is such a dangerous puzzle.

“His striking is very, very good. It’s very diverse, and he’s very powerful with every strike. He can hurt you with anything—a kick, a knee, a left hook, right hand, right uppercut. The guy’s got the total arsenal to be able to put you down,” Mendez said. He also warned that keeping the fight standing for too long could be disastrous.

So now, that respect has changed how the camp is working. “I’m extremely impressed with him, and that means I better work even harder because this is the individual that can make our night a very bad night if we don’t do our homework,” Team Khabib’s head coach confessed. He further added, “I’m actually, for the first time in a long time, watching the video of an opponent.”

And while he has watched some fight clips of the opponents at least once in the past, the preparation isn’t the same this time around. He said, “Believe it or not, I watched it two times already, the whole fight. This is how much I respect him. He’s a legit contender.”He went on to say that, while he believes Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter, Maddalena deserves “every ounce of respect” to avoid exposing flaws.

As fight night approaches, the stakes feel bigger than the belts. For Jack Della Maddalena, facing a decorated former champion like Islam Makhachev would establish his dominance in the welterweight division. For Islam, the pressure is heavier than ever before, not only because he is moving up a weight class, but also because of Khabib’s legacy.

Mendez’s rare admission of concern tells the story: Team Khabib understands that this is not a routine defense for their team. Jack Della Maddalena has turned a normally confident camp into one that is reviewing every tape, analyzing every angle, and preparing for a storm. However, that does not mean the coach is not confident in the Dagestani phenom.

Javier Mendez warns Jack Della Maddalena of Islam Makhachev’s striking

If the weight of Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s legacy wasn’t enough, Javier Mendez has thrown another layer of pressure on this fight. The longtime coach, who has witnessed Islam Makhachev hone every weapon over the last decade, warns Jack Della Maddalena not to think of the Dagestani phenom as a grappler stepping into striking waters.

For Coach Mendez, such underestimation is not only foolish; it is precisely what makes Makhachev so deadly. The Australian champion and his coach, Ben Vickers, may believe Belal Muhammad posed a greater stand-up threat, but Mendez dismisses this idea. To him, those who prepare for Islam’s striking based only on tape are misled by appearances. He told Submission Radio, “I hope he goes in believing that, because when he gets in there with Islam, he’s going to find out a whole different story.”

Coach Mendez further added, “Because I’m sorry, but they’re completely different, and by no means is Islam easy for anybody in the standup.” He argues that once fighters are in the cage with him, reality hits harder than any analysis. Years of sparring and destroying elite strikers, Mendez claims, have made Makhachev unpredictable in stand-up exchanges. While Mendez respects Della Maddalena’s ground game and the addition of Craig Jones to his camp, he believes his team still has the advantage.

With ‘The Eagle’ guiding the Dagestani wrestling design, he believes Islam can solve any grappling puzzle. To Mendez, this fight is more than just weight classes or styles; it’s about exposing a champion who believes he sees the big picture only to realize too late that Islam Makhachev has been holding unseen weapons all along.