Team Umar Nurmagomedov makes shocking admission about UFC 311 title loss: “Would have changed…”
Coach Javier Mendez wishes Umar Nurmagomedov had told him about the injury he sustained during the UFC 311 PPV title fight.
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Javier Mendez talks about Umar Nurmagomedov and UFC 311 injury (Source: IMAGO/X)
Umar Nurmagomedov recently lost his bid at the UFC 135-pound title strap at UFC 311. The top seed for gold faced Merab Dvalishvili and was subject to a lopsided scramble with the champion. In the aftermath, both parties revealed substantial injuries. Javier Mendez said Umar Nurmagomedov hid his broken hand from team at UFC 311.
“Young Eagle” claimed to have suffered a broken hand in R1 of his bantamweight title bout at UFC 311. After losing the first two rounds on two judges’ scorecards, Dvalishvili outlasted and outscrambled him to a unanimous win. It turns out, mean “Machine” punked CSAC doctors and hid his injury to stay on the card. Team AKA coach Javier Mendez said Nurmagomedov didn’t tell about his in-fight injury either.
If he had told me he broke his hand, I would have changed the game plan, …Khabib and I would have changed the game plan completely around because Khabib is a great corner. He’s one of the great ones that I’ve encountered cornering with. So, we could have changed the game plan, but we weren’t told. Umar didn’t tell us — That just shows you the kind of warrior he is.
Javier Mendez to Denis Shkuratov for the ‘Submission Radio’ Show for SBNation Network (🎥: @SubmissionRadio on YT)
Javier Mendez was surprised to see Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) grapple after out-striking on the feet in the first two rounds. Subsequently, he had no idea the fighter had broken his hand early on. The coach said cousin Khabib, who he bills an excellent cornerman for friends and family, would have surely altered the gameplan.
The Ex-UFC lightweight did also catch some flak on chatboards. Even ‘The MMA Guru’ (@THATBOYMMAGURU) dissed him for apparent abysmal corner advice to cousin Umar Nurmagomedov. Mendez also said this was a clear testament to the Dagestani fighter’s warrior spirit.
Umar Nurmagomedov recently stirred the pot saying this wasn’t a battle lost. Does that take to mean that this was a learning moment? Or is he refuting his loss? His injury though was as real as it comes. Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, also revealed that his fighter dealt with a lot of clinical adversity going into the bout. Mendez, additionally, weighed in on his other fighter as well.
Javier Mendez wants Arman Tsarukyan or Justin Gaethje to get the next crack at 155-pound title
Armenian lightweight and UFC 155-pound top seed Arman Tsarukyan was the “it” man to challenge gold at UFC 311. However, the Armenian fighter blew out his back (jury isn’t still out on that on some fronts) and pulled out. As a result, Islam Makhachev defended and won against short-notice replacement Renato Moicano.
Javier Mendez isn’t seeing the goodwill feeling in all this. He wants the Armenian warrior to get his crack at the gold again. The famous MMA coach even drew parallels to UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov to cite his reasons.
I feel bad for him (Tsarukyan) because no fighter should have to go through what that poor guy did. He trained so hard for this, earned the right to fight for the title, …It reminded me of what happened to Khabib Nurmagomedov. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I hope he doesn’t have to take another fight before he gets another title shot.
Javier Mendez further said to ‘Submission Radio’ Show for SBNation Network (🎥: @SubmissionRadio on YT)
However, with CEO Dana White claiming Tsarukyan needs to go back to the drawing board, Mendez named Justin Gaethje. Makhachev hasn’t fought the hard-chin brawler yet. The performance bonus king and veteran lightweight is a stiff test for the champ, who himself is showcasing prime pocket striking improvements. Only time will tell who Makhachev faces next.
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