Khabib Nurmagomedov recently had a heartwarming back-and-forth with his longtime coach, Javier Mendez.
Mendez has been Nurmagomedov’s coach since his father, Abdulmanap, brought him to the American Kickboxing Academy in 2012. Mendez has since become a close aide to the entire Dagestani contingent. After Nurmagomedov’s retirement in 2020, the former UFC lightweight champ has shouldered the responsibility of helping his teammates along with coach Mendez.
Nurmagomedov recently called out Mendez for failing to bring mitts to training. Mendez endearingly started filming Nurmagomedov for “talking bad” to him. Mendez then sought the help of Nurmagomedov’s successor, Islam Makhachev.