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AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) head coach Javier Mendez has asserted that Khabib Nurmagomedov would have ‘smashed’ Conor McGregor if they faced one another in a rematch. Mendez believes that the gap in skills between Nurmagomedov and McGregor has widened since their first fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defended his UFC lightweight title by defeating Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018. The Eagle is still the UFC lightweight champion, and last competed at UFC 254 in October 2020, defeating Justin Gaethje via second-round submission and unifying the UFC lightweight title.
Following his spectacular victory at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA. On his part, Conor McGregor has continually campaigned for a rematch against Nurmagomedov since his UFC 229 loss. McGregor’s most recent fight witnessed him losing via second-round TKO to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 (January 23rd, 2021).
Speaking to Submission Radio, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez opened up on how a potential rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor would go:
“Smashed. He would’ve got smashed. Khabib has gotten better. He would’ve got smashed, straight up. Khabib is better. He’s better than he was when they fought two years ago. Conor didn’t appear to be better. He has regressed a little bit. Khabib has gotten way better. He would’ve got smashed.”
Javier Mendez reiterated his belief that Conor McGregor has regressed whereas Khabib Nurmagomedov has improved since their UFC 229 fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was unlikely to accept the rematch regardless of what happened at UFC 257
Javier Mendez opined that Khabib Nurmagomedov wouldn’t have agreed to the rematch even if Conor McGregor had won impressively at UFC 257:
“Well, I didn’t even know even if he was gonna do great, that Khabib would fight him – Because he’s got to ask his mother’s permission first,” Javier Mendez said, insinuating that even if Conor McGregor had won impressively at UFC 257, Khabib Nurmagomedov may not have returned to rematch him.
“I mean, you guys have got to remember the key thing: He has to ask his mother too for permission. And I didn’t see GSP (Georges St-Pierre) being offered. And I thought the only way he (Khabib) was gonna come out of it (retirement) was if GSP was in the picture. But based on what happened, I don’t see why he would want to come out and fight anybody.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Khabib Nurmagomedov's mother had made him promise that he wouldn't fight without his father, the late great Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, in his corner. Abdulmanap passed away in July 2020, and Khabib has only fought once since. Khabib beat Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020 and then retired out of respect for his mother's wish.
The MMA community consensus is that Khabib Nurmagomedov is likely to vacate his UFC lightweight title, or he could be stripped of it, sooner rather than later.
