"Khabib was 100% interested" - Javier Mendez said that 'The Eagle' was all-in on coaching TUF opposite Tony Ferguson

American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez has revealed Khabib Nurmagomedov is interested in coaching against Tony Ferguson on The Ultimate Fighter.

Javier Mendez was involved with training the undefeated Nurmagomedov before he retired in 2020.

Speaking to Submission Radio, Mendez confirmed 'The Eagle' was interested in accepting Ferguson's offer to coach on TUF. He revealed that Nurmagomedov was planning to speak to Dana White about it:

"Khabib [Nurmagomedov] was excited. He said he would like to talk to Dana [White] when he was in Vegas. I don't know if he did talk to Dana or not. Khabib was 100% interested. I'd be interested, I think it would be fun. I think the fans would be interested, I think they'd tune in. I think it would be great."

'El Cucuy' called for the pair to face each other on TUF after his KO loss to Michael Chandler back in May.

Ferguson vs. Khabib was scheduled and re-scheduled five times while both were actively competing. It never materialized due to a host of issues and injuries. The bout is considered the most cursed fight in MMA.

During The Ultimate Fighter, it is customary for the two captains of each team to face each other at the culmination of the season. Despite Nurmagomedov's retirement in 2020 and Tony Ferguson's four-fight skid, 'El Cucucy' remains confident that he'll be victorious should the pair finally fight.

Catch Javier Mendez on Submission Radio here:

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Tony Ferguson calls Khabib Nurmagomedov a 'b*tch', says his next fight will definitely be against 'The Eagle'

There was a time when Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov was the most anticipated fight in MMA. Multiple reschedules and freak injuries only added to the suspense, but fans gave up when Ferguson's winning streak ending and Nurmagomedov retiring both occured in 2020.

In a recent interview with Helen Yee, Ferguson seemed confident that he's going to fight Nurmagomedov:

“My next fight’s gonna be against Khabib. I’m gonna pull that son of a b***h, that cake-eater motherf****r. The idea is to go on TUF and coach. Like I said, you can’t sandbag forever. I took four fights, opportunities to go out there, demonstrate to the UFC that I’m a go-getter. Win or lose, it was just gonna be an opportunity for Khabib to have film. If you’re gonna have film, why aren’t you gonna take the fight? Your pops was the only one that said that this was the fight that you wanted.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov responded to Tony Ferguson's initial challenge for TUF and even offered his own promotion, Eagle FC, as an alternative.

Although all signs so far point to some sort of fight being agreed between the pair, due to their history, many won't believe it's happening until they're stood across from one another in the cage.

Catch Tony Ferguson's interview here: