Javier Mendez explains where Islam Makhachev is better than Khabib Nurmagomedov: "He was already ahead"
Javier Mendez recently explained the areas in which he believes Islam Makhachev is better than Khabib Nurmagomedov. The reigning lightweight champion has been compared to his mentor and friend, especially considering that they share similarities in terms of his grappling.
The AKA coach has worked closely with both Dagestani competitors and has seen their training habits, how they prepare for fights, and how they deal with adversity. Makhachev recently earned his third successful lightweight title defense, which matched Nurmagomedov.
While speaking to The Schmo, the AKA coach highlighted the UFC lightweight champion's striking as being a noticeable difference between the two. Mendez mentioned that Makhachev's striking is much better than Nurmagomedov's, but as an overall fighter, it is difficult to compare. He said:
"Right from the get go, in all honesty, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] was not a great striker. So Islam [Makhachev] already came in as a fairly good striker, so he was already ahead of Khabib. He's been ahead of Khabib in the striking department. The overall department, I don't know anybody's ever going to be better than Khabib." [3:01 - 3:16]
Check out Javier Mendez's comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev below:
Javier Mendez explains how Islam Makhachev had better striking than Khabib Nurmagomedov
Javier Mendez explained how Islam Makhachev had better striking than Khabib Nurmagomedov despite training together for so many years.
During the aforementioned interview, the AKA coach noted that he worked more extensively with the reigning lightweight champion to improve his striking. Mendez mentioned that 'The Eagle' wasn't given that same luxury because he split time and didn't have anybody to work extensively with. He said:
"Khabib [Nurmagomedov] never really practiced his standup with anybody but myself, so he's mostly in Dagestan and he's there with his father and when he comes here [to AKA], he was practising with me but he didn't spend that much time with me...Sometimes three months with me. That's not the same as being three months with me and then nine months of striking in Dagestan. He wasn't striking with nobody." [3:28 - 3:50]
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov coaching Islam Makhachev backstage at UFC 302 below: