Coach Javier Mendez reveals how he trained Khabib Nurmagomedov for Conor McGregor's trash talk – "Conor got checkmated"
American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez recently recalled how he trained Khabib Nurmagomedov to deal with Conor McGregor's unbridled trash talk ahead of their fight at UFC 229.
'The Eagle' locked horns with the Irishman in one of the most infamous fights in UFC history. In the lead-up to their fight, McGregor engaged in extensive trash-talk, attacking the Russian's family, country, and even his religion. However, Nurmagomedov maintained his calm, showing little response to insults hurled by the Irishman.
The inception point of the feud was when Nurmagomedov slapped Artem Lobov over something Lobov had said. Lobov was McGregor's teammate at the time. Retaliating to the incident, McGregor attacked a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and other UFC fighters by hurling a dolly at one of the windows. The shattered glass injured multiple fighters including Rose Namajunas and Michael Chiesa. Khabib was allegedly held back from deboarding and attacking McGregor by the fighters present.
Although Nurmagomedov successfully defended his title against 'The Notorious' at UFC 229, things turned violent when Nurmagomedov attacked McGregor's teammate Dillon Danis. A widespread brawl ensued and Nurmagomedov had to be escorted out of the staging area.
The most heated rivalry in UFC history!
#OnThisDay in 2018: @TeamKhabib submitted Conor McGregor when they finally met at UFC 229 🔥
Watch it back in full with @UFCFightPass https://t.co/rExi7ry70I
In a recent episode of the Jibber With Jaber podcast, AKA head coach Javier Mendez revealed how he prepared Khabib Nurmagomedov to counter McGregor's relentless trash talk ahead of their fight at UFC 229:
"When the fight was announced, I would tell Khabib, 'He's gonna come after you, your family, your country, your religion, your father, you know even your manager and maybe even me...But he's coming after you and I want you to be prepared. Stay relaxed. Don't let it boil you up, get you upset because if you do that he wins.'"
Mendez continued:
"Every single time, Khabib was cool and calm, didn't react because he was trained from two months out that this was gonna happen. So, as it started happening it wasn't affecting him very much at all. As a matter of fact, Conor got checkmated quite a bit."
You can watch the latest episode of the Jibber With Jaber podcast below:
Coach Javier Mendez speaks up on why he has "zero respect" for Conor McGregor
During a recent interview with Submission Radio, coach Javier Mendez discussed a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Conor McGregor fight.
Mendez claimed to have "zero interest" in the matchup as the coach has "zero respect" for the Irish superstar. The animosity is rooted in the incident of 'The Notorious' posting certain offensive comments to make fun of Khabib Nurmagomedov's late father. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov died of COVID-19 in 2020.
Speaking about the reasons for his dislike of the Irishman, Javier Mendez said:
"I don't like Conor... He made those comments regarding the COVID situation, and uh...any man that makes comments like that, I'm sorry, you're not gonna get my appreciation... I just have zero respect for that."
You can check out Javier Mendez's recent interview below: