Javier Mendez shares wild story about Khabib Nurmagomedov “losing it” in the gym

During a recent interview with fellow MMA coach Tim Welch, Khabib Nurmagomedov's longtime coach Javier Mendez shared a story about the former champion losing his cool with a training partner.

Nurmagomedov is known for many things in the MMA world, his dominant fighting style, formidable spirit and most famously, retiring with a 29-0 record. He too is known for his respectful demeanor, as well as his usually composed attitude. 'The Eagle' notoriously attacked the coaching staff of Conor McGregor following their clash at UFC 229. However, outside of his incident with the Irishman, Nurmagomedov's reputation is nearly impeccable.

According to the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) founder, former UFC champion Daniel Cormier had brought a kickboxer in to train with the AKA team before things went awry.

Mendez said:

"Khabib, out of all of those guys, was mentally the strongest... No matter what happened, what outcome happened good or bad, he stayed pretty level-headed. Except one time, one time I've seen him lose it crazy... A kickboxer guy that [Daniel Cormier] brought over for sparring, he was a very experienced kickboxer."

He continued:

"I guess he was working in one of the rooms with Khabib, and he was trying to show Khabib a certain technique. next thing you know, I guess he kicked Khabib full in the face when Khabib was just standing there waiting for the guy to show him... Khabib's running after this guy saying, 'Come here, come here!' Khabib had blood in his eyes... I couldn't have calmed him down."

Check out Javier Mendez discuss Khabib Nurmagomedov below (8:30):

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Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach talks Conor McGregor crossing the line with trash-talk

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor share one of MMA's most heated and vitriolic rivalries. One of the most infamous moments in their rivalry was McGregor's attack on a bus containing Nurmagomedov, following a media event ahead of UFC 223.

The flames of their beef continued to be stoked, with the Irishman taking aim at Nurmagomedov's family, religion and more. According to the Dagestani's longtime coach, Javier Mendez, 'The Notorious' crossed the line while doing so.

During an appearance on the Overdogs Podcast, Mendez said:

"I don't really like him because obviously he used dirty tactics. [If] You want to talk about a fighter, go ahead. But [McGregor] talked about religion, he talked about family, he talked about country. I don't respect fighters doing that. I love a fighter that sticks to the fighter... Leave my kids out of it, leave my wife out of it. What do they have to do [with it]?"

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach discuss Conor McGregor below (1:00:00):