When Donald Trump made a curious enquiry about Khabib Nurmagomedov after the Dagestani's retirement
Former United States president Donald Trump once made a curious enquiry following Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement.
Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. The Dagestani was unbeaten in his entire professional career and retired with a perfect record of 29-0 back in 2020 after beating Justin Gaethje.
Following Nurmagomedov's retirement, there was a lot of speculation surrounding his potential return for a while. The topic even intrigued Donald Trump.
During an interview with Jim Norton and Matt Serra earlier this year, the former president revealed that he had reached out to Dana White to ask about the former UFC lightweight champion potentially coming back.
While hailing Khabib Nurmagomedov as a "seriously good fighter," Donald Trump had this to say:
"Khabib was great and it looks like he probably doesn't come back but I asked Dana and I said, 'Where is Khabib, are you going to get him to come back?' I thought he was a seriously good fighter, right?"
Catch Donald Trump's comments in the video below (14:54):
Khabib Nurmagomedov deviated from his father's plan sometimes, claims Javier Mendez
The late father of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, has been credited a lot for his son's success inside the octagon. The gameplan for his fights, which was given by his father, entailed sticking to his strengths as a grappler by intelligently pursuing takedowns and being defensively aware.
However, there were instances when the former UFC lightweight champion did not stick to the gameplan. According to AKA founder and Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez, there is a reason behind the occasional abandonment of 'father's plan'.
During an episode of his podcast, Mendez recalled how Nurmagomedov did not stick to the gameplan in his fight against Edson Barboza:
"Khabib doesn't listen a lot of the times, but when he does listen, he does exactly what he's supposed to do because you gotta understand, Khabib was always, 'Oh, he can't strike, he can't this.' So he stands with these guys to show them he can, so he doesn't go to father's plan, which was what I wanted to do always."
Catch Javier Mendez's comments in the video below (11:34):