Following UFC 300, the world of MMA has been shocked by the announcement of Conor McGregor’s comeback, with a fight against Michael Chandler following three years out of the ring.
We have some brand new quotes from renowned former trainer of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Javier Mendez, who has surprisingly backed McGregor at 170lbs against former Lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler.
Mendez was speaking to King Casino Bonus, and this is what he had to say:
Reaction to Islam-Dustin being made?
I love the fight with Dustin, I think it’s a good fight for us, and I’m excited about it. Dustin will come prepared in every area but it’s a good match for Islam.
I definitely feel Islam is going too much for Dustin in every department. Dustin is a tough customer no doubt, but this is going to be a five round domination.
Dustin was talking about Islam and Islam responded, so I like the banter, the back and forth, there’s already history there, so I like the storyline with Dustin.
Reaction to McGregor-Chandler being made?
It’s a fight that’s good for MMA. It’s going to be a very high grossing pay-pay-view because Conor is involved. Conor brings a lot of attention and he is of course getting a lot of attention at the moment with his movie which came out at number one. Love him or hate him – I don’t like him – he is a star. I don’t like the way he acts but he’s a great fighter. You can’t take that from him.
He’s got four of the highest pay per views in the UFC. I don’t like him but he’s a great opponent for anyone, he’s a great dance partner because he builds the animosity, look at the animosity Conor built with Khabib, then the jumping over the cage that Khabib did, that made Khabib a bigger star having a dance partner like Conor. Good versus bad. You need a narrative to follow.
I think the weight favours Conor slightly, he’ll be a bigger and will be able to muscle around Chandler who is the naturally smaller guy. Size is going to be the issue for Chandler. The other thing is Chandler should wrestle him but normally he resorts to standing with his opponents and I think he’s going to stand and strike with him. It’s going to be a very exciting fight and the result will depend on whether Conor can reinvent himself or at least go back to the fighter he used to be.
What’s the latest with Umar?
Umar and Sandhagen are in negotiation, but there’s no date at the moment. We need to work out whether it’s him or someone else. We want Sandhagen, I want Sandhagen, there’s history there and he is a worthy opponent. I want something with history and a valuable guy, which he is, so there’s meaning to this fight. Beating him would hopefully be a step in the right direction towards a title shot. But we will fight anyone in the top five.
Jon Jones has been in the news for the wrong reason, what’s your take?
Jon Jones does a few eccentric things but he wasn’t arrested. If had done something wrong he’d have been arrested. The way some media reported it, it seemed like he had been arrested, he wasn’t. Let him speak his mind and when the dust clears, I’m sure we’ll find out he didn’t do a lot of the things they are alleging he did. He’s high profile and he’s been in trouble before, so a lot of people can potentially target him. I’m not saying that happened but I’m saying potentially he could have been targeted.
What was the lowest moment training Khabib?
When Michael Johnson hit Khabib with that good shot, that was my bad moment. I was freaking out because I knew his father would be watching and I knew his father would not want Khabib standing with Michael. I was frantic saying ‘go back to father’s plan, go back to father’s plan’. That was a tough moment. And when he jumped over the cage, that was another tough moment, but it also made him into a big star.
Fantasy fights: Tom Aspinall v Cain Velasquez / Jose Aldo v Khabib
It would have been tough for Tom Aspinall because of Cain’s wrestling, his wrestling would have been superior to Tom’s. It would have come down to wrestling and I don’t think Tom would be able to wrestle to that degree, he would be in trouble. Cain could stand with anyone in the stand up, but Cain had a lot of injuries and other things happen to him, he was mismanaged at times, if weren’t for those things he would have been the greatest heavyweight of all time.
It would not have gone good for Aldo. He would have been too small, he’s not big enough to offer any threat to Khabib. He wouldn’t be able to deal with the wrestling. Jose did well with guys taking him down, but Khabib was a master at takedowns, there’s nobody Khabib couldn’t take down and Aldo would have been no exception, plus the size. Khabib was a big lightweight. Aldo was one of the greatest for sure, but he would have not be able to deal with the pressure. No matter who Khabib takes down at lightweight he’d maul them. I’m my eyes Khabib’s the greatest of all time.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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