Javier Mendez heading the American Kickboxing Academy is one of the most well known and accomplished fighters in MMA. So far, he has trained five UFC champion, a list that includes names like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Daniel Cormier. He will be aiming to add a sixth with Umar Nurmagomedov at bantamweight as his disciples hail his role in the success of their careers.
This weekend, the UFC returns to Abu Dhabi in a rare fight night card, unlike the usual PPVs.
What’s more important, however, is the main event on the night is a number one contender eliminator between Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen.
The winner of the fight will take on the winner of Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili, a fight that takes place in September this year. Ahead of their fight, lightweight Islam Makhachev took to Instagram to share a picture with himself, coach Javier Mendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov and calling him the “champsmaker“.
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‘The Eagle‘ reshared the post with the caption, ‘The Close ones‘.
For the past few weeks now, the trio has been in Abu Dhabi helping the younger Nurmagomedov achieve his ultimate goal in the sport.
The Eagle’s MMA team led by Khabib is one of the most talent-stacked groups in the sport. While the undefeated patriarch of the team plays a key role as the coach, he still refers to Javier Mendez as the head coach and credits him for all the success that he has had as well as his teammates.
In Dagestani culture, elders are given the first seat at the table and coaches are revered like fathers, so it comes as no surprise that the team credits so much of their achievements to Mendez.
However, Khabib being present in the corner of his siblings and friends also has an undeniable effect on the fight. Just ask Dustin Poirier.
He will also be present in his cousin, Umar’s corner when he takes on ‘The Sandman’ with dreams of winning a chance at a title fight courtesy of this.
Khabib returns as Umar takes on ‘The Sandman’
After his retirement from the sport, ‘The Eagle’ took an active role as a coach and cornerman for his teammates. Khabib often featured in the corner, especially for Makhachev as he was still chasing the lightweight belt.
However, once he won the belt, Khabib took a back seat from coaching and did not corner Makhachev or anyone else for the better part of two years.
He stated that he wanted to spend more time with his family and therefore wanted to stop all coaching related activities.
However, it appears as though Khabib is now getting back into the thick of things as he cornered Makhachev in his recent fight against Poirier.
It now appears that the undefeated former champion will now be in Umar’s corner for his upcoming fight against Sandhagen. So bully for Umar, not so much for ‘The Sandman’ as Khabib shouts the next move, like a conductor conducting a beautiful symphony of just relentless wrestling!
