Tag: Javier Mendez

Video: What impact will Khabib Nurmagomedov leaving coaching have on his fighters?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the impact of Khabib Nurmagomedov walking away from coaching as the 2023 slate of fights begins.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] made an impact as a coach after the conclusion of his fighting career, but now, it appears that chapter is done as well.

Nurmagomedov, one half of MMA Junkie’s 2022 Coaches of the Year along with [autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag], has accomplished a lot in a short time as a leading man from cageside. It was a fantastic year for the team, which accomplished the goal of seeing [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] become the UFC lightweight champion, in addition to numerous victories across multiple promotions from his stable of Dagestani fighters.

Simply put, Nurmagomedov’s influence on his fighters has been immense, but now it seems it’s time for him to move on and focus on family.

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What does this move mean for his fighters? Will there be able to compete at the same high level without his presence cageside? What does this mean for Makhachev who has a massive title fight on the horizon against Alexander Volkanovski?

Furthermore, is Nurmagomedov really stepping away from MMA entirely?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Danny Segura, Nolan King and Mike Bohn answered those questions and more with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above. And don’t miss this week’s full episode below.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.

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Javier Mendez doesn’t expect Islam Makhachev to finish Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284

Javier Mendez expects Alexander Volkanovski to go the full 25 minutes with Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.

American Kickboxing Academy coach [autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] expects [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] to go the full 25 minutes with [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].

Lightweight champion Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) will make his first title defense against featherweight champion Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) in the UFC 284 main event Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Makhachev has finished his past five opponents, including a submission of Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280. But his coach, Mendez, foresees a back-and-forth battle.

“I expect at the end of the day Islam Makhachev is going to be pound-for-pound the best fighter in the UFC or in the world,” Mendez said in an interview with Helen Yee. “After he beats Alex, which I’m expecting him to do, but not like people are thinking, like any kind of finish. I don’t like that. It’s going to be a five-round war.”

Volkanovski is expecting to get taken down by Makhachev but doesn’t see himself getting held down for too long. Makhachev disagrees and sees him panicking once it hits the ground – and Mendez understands why Makhachev said that.

“Once he grabs you, you’re not thinking that kind of strength, and he’s super strong,” Mendez said. “So yeah, I think it’s possible it could happen. But Alex should relax, because that’s the best weapon, but will he be able to relax when Islam takes him down? When he takes him down, because that’s gonna happen. In my opinion, there is no one in the lightweight division that’s gonna beat Islam outside of what anybody can. Anybody can win, but on a decision? No one’s gonna beat him.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.

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MMA Junkie’s 2022 Coaches of the Year: Khabib Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez

They crowned UFC and Bellator champions in 2022. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez are MMA Junkie’s 2022 Coaches of the Year.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and Javier Mendez long have had their footprints in the MMA world. However, in 2022 this pairing became nearly unstoppable.

After Nurmagomedov said goodbye to his professional fighting career in late 2020 and vacated the UFC lightweight title, he switched to a coaching role – filling in the shoes of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died earlier that year. In 2021, the world saw a glimpse of what was to come – a strict, passionate and dedicated mentor who demands nothing but the best from his fighters.

But that all had to wait until 2022 for it to fully unfold.

This past year, Nurmagomedov, along with Mendez, his longtime head coach at American Kickboxing Academy, formed a coalition that tore through MMA across several different promotions.

Together, this coaching pair went 19-2 in 2022. And in that campaign, they captured the UFC and Bellator lightweight titles, plus built several prospects and legit contenders in the UFC, Bellator and ONE Championship.

Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev was by far the biggest and most successful product of the Nurmagomedov-Mendez coaching duo.

The 31-year-old quickly dispatched Bobby Green in March with a first-round TKO, then returned in October to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title. He did so by submitting the man with the record for most submissions in UFC history, Charles Oliveira. Makhachev also showed in his title win an incredible development in the striking department.

Usman Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov and Mendez’s success went beyond the UFC. In Bellator, the team also crowned a champion when Usman Nurmagomedov dethroned tough veteran Patricky Freire to remain unbeaten and put gold around his waist at Bellator 288 in November. Usman went 2-0 in 2022; he submitted Chris Gonzalez in less than three minutes in July. Usman is just 24.

Belal Muhammad

Belal Muhammad was a late addition to the squad, but even then, there were noticeable improvements in the little time Muhammad worked with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Mendez. Muhammad trained with the two for what was his final fight in 2022, a key welterweight showdown with then-unbeaten contender Sean Brady at UFC 280 in October.

Muhammad, who had just one finish in his past 13 fights, picked up a great stoppage and scored a second-round TKO to win a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Muhammad attributed much of his success to Nurmagomedov and Mendez.

Umar Nurmagomedov

Umar Nurmagomedov didn’t win a championship like Makhachev or Usman Nurmagomedov and didn’t solidify title contention like Muhammad, but he did climb the rankings while staying undefeated in the sport’s toughest division.

The bantamweight went 2-0 in 2022. He submitted Brian Kelleher in March, then outpointed Nate Maness in June. At just 26, Umar looks to be a serious threat at 135 pounds and a man who one day could fight for UFC gold.

More

  • Saygid Izagakhmaev – 3-0 (ONE Championship)
  • Gadhzi Rabadanov 3-0 (Bellator)
  • Imamshafi Aliev 2-0 (Bellator)
  • Islam Mamedov 2-1 (Eagle FC, Bellator)
  • Abubakar Nurmagomedov 1-0 (UFC)
  • Tagir Ulanbekov 1-1 (UFC)

There’s no denying the Nurmagomedov and Mendez partnership is off to a phenomenal start. This is just the second year of their venture together as coaches, and they’ve already accomplished plenty. It’s hard to imagine a future in which they don’t produce more champions in major organizations.

Given what was done this year and what’s to come, Nurmagomedov and Mendez were a clear choice for MMA Junkie’s 2022 Coaches of the Year.

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Coach Javier Mendez says Islam Makhachev got UFC pound-for-pound ranking quickly: ‘He needs to do more’

Coach Javier Mendez wants to see more from Islam Makhachev.

[autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is the best fighter out there, but also he also thinks his student has yet to prove it.

The American Kickboxing Academy coach doesn’t understand how Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) got the No. 2 ranking on the UFC’s official pound-for-pound list after his submission win over Charles Oliveira in the main event of last month’s UFC 280.

Yes, Makhachev is now champion, but he has yet to put to defend the title and there are worthy contenders waiting to fight him. That’s why Mendez believes the UFC rushed in giving their lightweight champion that high of a spot on the pound-for-pound list.

“Look, you know this just as much as I do, Islam went to No. 2 spot pound-for-pound in the UFC in just one fight? How?,” Mendez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I know he’s good, and I believe he’s No. 1. I do believe that. But to give him that spot of No. 2 pound-for-pound in just one fight, no. I know in my heart with time he’ll be No. 1. Simple as that. He’s going to be No. 1. But they gave him this just because of one fight.

“No, I don’t like that. It was done too quickly.”

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Makhachev only has one professional defeat and is currently on an 11-fight winning streak. Although he’s got plenty of work in the octagon, he still has several top contenders he has yet to fight.

Makhachev is scheduled to fight UFC featherweight title holder Alexander Volkanovski in a champion vs. champion superfight in the main event of UFC 284 on Feb. 11 in Perth, Australia. On top of that, streaking contender Beneil Dariush is anxiously awaiting his shot at the belt.

Mendez feels those two names alone could get the job done for Makhachev in terms of being the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

“He’s the man, but he needs to do more,” Mendez said. “That’s what I believe. He needs to beat Volkanovski, then Dariush. He needs to beat those guys, so you can say he’s No. 1.

“Look at what Volkanovski is doing. He mopped the floor with all the challengers that are in his weight class. Everyone. He cleared them all out. Islam needs to clear everyone out. Again, I feel he’s No. 1, but in order to get that you need to finish everyone, that’s how it works. That’s how I think.”

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Javier Mendez talks Umar Nurmagomedov with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura

Javier Mendez talks Umar Nurmagomedov with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura

Javier Mendez talks Umar Nurmagomedov with MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s road to UFC 254 was filled with obstacles, including hospital stay

As if the death of his father wasn’t enough, Khabib Nurmagomedov faced even more adversity on his road to UFC 254.

UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] had to battle numerous obstacles heading into the final fight of his career.

Prior to submitting Justin Gaethje in the second round of the UFC 254 headliner, it was revealed that Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) missed two weeks of camp after being diagnosed with the mumps in mid-September. UFC president Dana White also said Nurmagomedov suffered a broken foot three weeks before his fight.

That was in addition to the fact that UFC 254 was Nuamgomedov’s first fight since the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap, earlier this year.

Speaking to Submission Radio, American Kickboxing Academy head coach [autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag], who trains Nurmagomedov, detailed “The Eagle’s” difficult camp and how he spent three days in the hospital.

“It took him out of two weeks of training,” Mendez said. “And he got the mumps, I guess, the day before his father’s event in Russia. So, he came here with the mumps, and he tried training a couple of days really light. But then he got so sick; he had to be hospitalized. So, he was in the hospital for three days. He comes out, and I’m like going, I’m really (expletive), man. I’m going, ‘Oh man, we’re fighting such a great warrior like Justin, and we’re already starting off on a bad foot.’ And I go, ‘This really sucks.'”

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While recovering from the mumps, bad luck continued for Nurmagomedov, who then broke a toe while sparring. But the undefeated champ would not be deterred.

“So, he starts training really light one week, and then the second week we had to get some sparring in, because without sparring you don’t know where you’re at,” Mendez said. “So, we have one sparring session. He looked OK. Not how I wanted him to look, but he looked okay. And the second sparring session he was looking great, and all of a sudden midway in the second round, boom, he stops. I go, ‘What the heck happened?’ Broke his freakin’ toe. And I’m like, ‘Oh, great. Broken toe.’ Now we have to wait more time for him to heal before we can start training again.

“So that really jacked everything up. But at the end of the day, like I said, we all have things that happen in camp. This was just one of our worst for him. And the one thing he said like six days out before the event, he said, ‘Coach, my toe may be broken, but my mind is not.’ And we worked on stuff like that forever from his father. To me, when he said that ‘my mind is not (broken),’ we knew that we’re winning this fight no matter what. And in all honesty, these last sparring sessions, he looked fantastic.”

Nurmagomedov used his pressure early, going right at Gaethje, who attempted to stifle his movement with hard leg kicks. Once Nurmagomedov got the fight to the ground, he quickly locked in a triangle choke in Round 2 for the win.

After the fight, Nurmagomedov surprised the masses by announcing his retirement, fulfilling a promise to his mother that he would no longer compete without his father to guide him.

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Javier Mendez: ‘It’s stupid’ to question Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 254 weigh-in

Javier Mendez says Khabib Nurmagomedov had an easy weight cut and doesn’t understand people “making something out of nothing.”

American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez is puzzled by some of the reaction to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s weigh-in ahead of UFC 254.

Following the official weigh-ins Friday, many took to social media to point out a couple of things about Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) stepping on the scale: the way his weight was measured and how he looked.

Mendez, who wasn’t present at the weigh-ins, said he doesn’t understand people’s comments questioning the weigh-in when they weren’t there. Mendez wasn’t there precisely because, according to him, there were no issues with Nurmagomedov’s weight cut.

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“I can tell you that yesterday after the first weight cut, it was in the morning, he was six pounds off the weight, and he was going to do two cuts  – one on Thursday morning and one at night,” Mendez told MMA Junkie in a phone interview. “He felt so good, and he was six pounds off, and he felt strong and said he was going to do the cut the next day. And (by then) he had four-and-a-half, maybe five pounds to go this morning.

“I asked him, ‘How was the weight cut?’ And he said, ‘Easy, coach, like last time.’ And last time wasn’t that hard. I mean, all weight cuts are hard as you know, but I don’t understand (why) people are making something of nothing. It’s stupid. He wasn’t struggling. If you would’ve watched him right now, he was grappling, you’d say wow that guy is strong as hell.”

Nurmagomedov defends his UFC lightweight title against interim champion Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) on Saturday in the main event of UFC 254, which streams live on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

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Coach Javier Mendez: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre would decide ‘best of all time’

Coach Javier Mendez sees massive stakes in a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre.

The stakes of a potential [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] would be at an all-time high, at least according to Nurmagomedov’s coach.

[autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag], the head coach of American Kickboxing Academy, believes a contest between Nurmagomedov, the current UFC lightweight champion, and St-Pierre, former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion, would determine the greatest fighter of all time.

“Yeah, I think so, and so does Khabib,” Mendez said in Spanish on Monday’s episode of “Hablemos MMA.” “The person that beats GSP will be the best of all time; I think so.”

Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre have been linked to each other for quite some time, as both fighters have expressed interest in facing each other.

St-Pierre hasn’t competed since defeating Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title in late 2017, but the Canadian has yet to close the door on returning to the cage.

Although the UFC has not necessarily been keen on the idea of a matchup between Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre, last month UFC president Dana White said he’s be interested in putting the bout together.

Nurmagovedov recently said he’d like to face St-Pierre and retire from the sport if first successful in defending his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Oct. 24. Mendez thinks that’s a likely scenario for the Dagestani.

“Yeah, it’s a big possibility,” Mendez said. “He might do that because all the times that I was with him and his dad, they’ve talked about those things: two more fights, 30-0.

“They want to a legacy fight, then be done and help the other guys that are starting their fighting careers. There’s great fighters, cousins of his who are great fighter like Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov. Yhey’re his blood. They’re going to be great fighters. Islam Makhachev too.

“So he wants to help them get to the title. I don’t think he’ll fight beyond that, but anything is possible. I was a fighter too and when you’re finishing a career, you feel it in your heart, you want to fight more and it’s hard not to fight. I don’t think he’ll continue fighting, but anything is possible.”

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A bout between Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre would be a blockbuster event, as the two are among the biggest stars in the company’s history.

Nurmagomedov is unbeaten and arguable the best UFC lightweight champion of all time. Meanwhile, St-Pierre is a former two-division champion and already considered by many to be the greatest fighter of all time.

Mendez said Khabib is not in it for the money the mega fight could generate, but more about his legacy and honoring the wishes of his father who passed away this summer due to complications with COVID-19.

“He doesn’t want that fight for money and that’s what his father wanted,” Mendez said. “He told me, ‘That’s what my father wants. What do you think coach?’ And I was like, ‘You know, if that’s what your father wants, we can do it, and if that’s what you want as well.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I want to do it for my father, so I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’

“But if he doesn’t want to end his career he can jump back in there. He’s young, he’s only 31, so he still has a more years of fighting. I’m not going to tell him he has to fight. I’m going to go with what he wants to do.”

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