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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s head coach, Javier Mendez, believes that the UFC ‘would try to avoid’ a confrontation between Conor McGregor and The Eagle on Fight Island.
Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are currently on Fight Island (Yas Island) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Notorious is there for his upcoming UFC 257 (January 23rd) fight against Dustin Poirier. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov is there to corner his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, who willl fight Sergey Morozov at UFC Fight Island 8 (January 20th).
Speaking to RT Sports MMA, Javier Mendez was asked if the UFC would look to avoid Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov coming face to face on Fight Island. Mendez addressed this and stated that it would be smart to avoid a situation where both of them would come face to face.
“Yeah, I would think that they would try to avoid it. That would be smart. I would agree. I mean that would be smart to avoid it.” Javier Mendez said.
“I think one hundred percent it makes sense to avoid the meeting. I’ve made many conversations, you know, people never ask me what I thought of Conor as a person. They always ask me what I think of him as a fighter. As a fighter, he (Conor McGregor) is fantastic. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. But as a person, I don’t like him, you know. I don’t like what he does. I don’t like him speaking about country, religion, and family, you know. And just art of war type tactics that I don’t think should ever come into play for the fight game, you know. Talk trash to him (Khabib Nurmagomedov), say something, whatever you want about him, but leave all that other stuff alone. And he (McGregor) did his research, and he attacked all those things. And it’s kind of hard to forgive that. Because this is all not all business, you know. You’re talking family here, you know, talking religion, talking country. It’s kind of hard on people. So, I think that’s the reason why I don’t particularly care for him. I don’t hate him, but I just don’t care for him.” said Javier Mendez. (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Javier Mendez asserted his respect for Conor McGregor as a fighter, whilst simultaneously condemning The Notorious One’s personal jibes at Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Conor McGregor faces a tough challenge at UFC 257
While a rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov is a possibility, the fact remains that the former UFC double champion has to get past Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.
The Notorious One defeated The Diamond in their first fight in 2014. Despite the crushing loss, Poirier was able to bounce back and is currently one of the most skilled fighters in UFC.
Should McGregor beat THe Diamond in the rematch, he’d likely get a shot at the title – be it against current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov or for a vacant Championship if The Eagle is stripped of the title.
