Javier Mendez believes Ian Garry’s mental strength and confidence could make him a dangerous challenger when he faces Islam Makhachev for the UFC welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330 on August 15 in Philadelphia.

Makhachev enters the bout with a reputation as one of the sport’s premier grapplers, but Mendez, founder of American Kickboxing Academy and coach to several former champions, said Garry’s mindset is one of the Irish contender’s greatest assets heading into the championship clash.

“Ian’s Garry’s mental game is huge,” said Mendez. “That’s what my book is about. It is all about mental strength and how you can do anything with mental strength if done right. Proper planning and execution with the right formula. It can’t just be, ‘I can beat gorillas, but I am a little ant.’ It’s impossible. You have to be realistic. Realistic expectations create real results.”

Mendez also stressed the importance of balancing confidence with realism, pointing to Ilia Topuria’s loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 as an example. “The fight will go the full five rounds. We will win all five rounds. That will never change… Never,” said Mendez. “I’m not doing my fighter justice by putting something that is not realistic in my mind. It’s not to say that Islam can’t finish the fight earlier, but I just don’t want to do that. Look at what happened to Ilia Topuria. He predicted all types of outcomes for his fight and the next thing we know, he is sitting there with a broken orbital bone and is bleeding everywhere.”

Garry will challenge for the welterweight championship when he meets Makhachev at UFC 330, with the outcome set to determine whether the Irishman can pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year against the highly regarded champion.