Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach reveals why he likes the banter between Conor McGregor and the Dagestani fighter
Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez has claimed that he likes the current banter between the undefeated Russian and Conor McGregor where the pair don't involve each other's families.
In a recent interaction with Submission Radio, Mendez said that both McGregor and Nurmagomedov have matured a lot since their grudge match at UFC 229 back in October 2018. Mendez is glad that the rivals don't involve each other's families or their religion during their heated verbal exchanges anymore.
He is of the view that two fighters should only keep the banter between themselves and their respective coaches, managers, and teams. Making derogatory comments on a person's family or their religion is not something he advocates, said Mendez, possibly referring to some of McGregor's comments during the build-up to fight against Khabib.
However, he acknowledged that both men have been professional with their banter this time around.
"I think the banter [between Conor and Khabib] has been very professional this time which is great because they're rapping at each other. Rap on me, rap on the coach, rap on Khabib', rap on the manager. Leave everybody else out of it and I think that's cool."
Even though he admits that he doesn't like Conor McGregor, Mendez said that he appreciates the spirit in which the Irishman has now been calling out the Russian for the rematch.
"He's not talking about Khabib's religion, his family, or country, he's just talking about Khabib. That's cool. Nothing wrong with that. He's talking about him, saying 'come on, step up' and he's doing it right you know? I still don't like him but he's doing it right you know."
Khabib Nurmagomedov takes a jibe at Conor McGregor; Irishman responds
Following Conor McGregor's loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, Khabib Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to aim a jibe at the Irishman. Nurmagomedov blamed McGregor for changing his team and sparring partners for the fight against Poirier and said that was the reason he lost the fight.
In response, here's what Conor McGregor had to say:
"My team has been my team since day one, I have not changed anything. It is what it is. Respect the athletes, that's the character of the man for sure, behind the mask... If he wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back my man"
It is unlikely that Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the octagon for a rematch against Conor McGregor, especially since the Irishman got knocked out against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. McGregor must now go back to the drawing board, find a way to iron out his flaws, and work his way back to the top of the UFC lightweight division.