Head coach reveals the ONLY fighter in history to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov in sparring session
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Khabib Nurmagomedov and Javier Mendez
Khabib Nurmagomedov is a monster in and out of the octagon. When it comes to training hard, there are very few that can outdo the legendary lightweight. Coach Javier Mendez reveals the fighter that was able to win over the Dagestani during sparring sessions.
Javier Mendez always considers himself lucky to have coached some great fighters like Luke Rockhold, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. There is no doubt that Nurmagomedov was the greatest fighter that coach Javier had seen until he met Islam Makhachev.
Many have tried but only one has succeeded in beating the former lightweight champion during sparring sessions. That praise goes to Makhachev, who is now scheduled to fight for the lightweight title at UFC 280. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, AKA head coach talks about Makhachev beating Nurmagomedov in sparring sessions.
“In all history, since 2012, since Khabib’s been doing sparring with me in front of my eyes, there has been nobody that’s ever taken a round from him. No one’s ever won a sparring session. Except one man. Islam,” said Javier in the interview.
“He’s the only one that has won rounds from Khabib. Never won a session, but he’s won rounds. And I’ve never seen that” added coach Mendez. This alone was enough for the American Kickboxing Academy head coach to be convinced that Makhachev was the true heir to the UFC lightweight throne.
.@akajav reveals “in all the history, since 2012” Khabib has never lost a “sparring session” ?
— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) September 29, 2022
“Islam. He's the only one that has won rounds from Khabib. Never won a session, but he’s won rounds.”
?: https://t.co/edM0XZnbVu pic.twitter.com/ff9UNypi37
Former UFC middleweight champion talks about training with Khabib Nurmagomedov
To put things into better perspective, the former lightweight champion was not only dominating fighters during training but he also went to the extent of destroying fighters from weight classes above him. Former UFC champ, Luke Rockhold can attest to that.
Also read: Who is Islam Makhachev? How is he related to Khabib Nurmagomedov?
Ahead of his fight at UFC 277, Rockhold returned to American Kickboxing Academy and received a warm welcome from the Dagestani. After getting ragdolled by Nurmagomedov, this is what Rockhold had to say about the training session:
“He gets a body lock on me and when you give him side position and it is like nothing you have ever experienced.” This is coming from a fighter who is two weight classes above the Dagestani.
Also read: WATCH: Luke Rockhold gets manhandled by former champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in wrestling practice
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Prateek Athanur
(2944 Articles Published)