Khabib Nurmagomedov has been praised for both his fighting career as well as his coaching, but even he isn’t perfect in all areas.
Nurmagomedov has been in the corner of reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. It’s no secret that “The Eagle” gets animated when cornering fighters, and UFC 302 was no exception. Nurmagomedov took issue with Makhachev for seemingly playing Dustin Poirier’s game at times during their 155-pound title fight. Ultimately, Makhachev won the bout via fifth-round submission.
American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez admits he feels Khabib could use a bit more seasoning as a cornerman.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Needs to Work on Cornering, Says Javier Mendez
During an interview with The Schmo, Javier Mendez said that the cornering of Khabib Nurmagomedov could use some work (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“Khabib’s actually becoming a great coach and a great cornerman – [but] he needs some work on the cornering. He’s great at game planning, he’s fantastic at game planning but we need to work a little bit on the cornering – just a little bit.”
Mendez further explained why Khabib needs to improve his cornering.
“He needs to master the corner though… We still need to work the corner because he goes a little crazy on there, up and down, slamming on the table – [I told him] ‘Calm down, calm down’. He gets really amped up.”
Mendez admitted that it’s been a while since he last saw Khabib cornering, and he was quickly reminded of just how chaotic things can be.
“I mean he loves his fighters so much [as] his brothers that you know, he puts everything into that fight when he goes, I forgot what it was like to have him in the corner; it’s kind of crazy.”
Time will tell if Khabib heeds the advice of Mendez, or if he’ll continue to wear his heart on his sleeve while his fighters are inside the Octagon.