Khabib Nurmagamedov’s Head Coach Javier Mendez Has Ranked the Russian’s Most Likely Next Opponents in Order of Danger… You Might be Surprised by Who is Still Top of the List…
Is there a fighter in the UFC more intimidating or impressive than Khabib Nurmagamedov right now? You could argue Jon Jones, but the difference between the light-heavyweight champion and the Russian 155lb king is that lightweight is chockablock with killers.
‘The Eagle’ has a soaring record of 27-0. Not one of his opponents in the UFC has come close to beating him. He’s only lost one round with the world’s biggest MMA promotion. That was against Conor McGregor and only because he had slowed down to catch his breath after putting a brutal smashing on the Irishman in the previous round. He would submit ‘The Notorious’ in the next.
You might be surprised then that Javier Mendez, Khabib’s head coach, still believes that McGregor is the biggest potential threat to the Dagestani sambo fighter’s reign as lightweight champion. You’d be a brave man to put money on it though.
Threat
The pair fought at UFC 229 after a well-publicised rivalry that reached its most toxic low point when McGregor flung a dolly through the window of a bus carrying the Russian fighter from media duties at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center. He would say it was ‘just business,’ but that didn’t stop Khabib from pulverising him when they finally fought.
Then there was that ludicrous post-fight brawl which saw both men hit with six-month suspensions. Currently, McGregor is just doing his thing while Khabib is observing Ramadan.
Unbeatable?
Can anybody beat Khabib? That’s the big question. You could say that the Russian is a one-dimensional fighter. You know exactly what he’s going to do to you: drag you to the ground and beat you up until he can submit you. If he can’t get a submission, you’re just going to get smashed. He literally beats the will out of you. Javier Mendez, Khabib’s head coach at AKA still thinks McGregor is the most dangerous potential opponent.
“Talking about four potential rivals for Khabib I can give my assessment from the least dangerous to the most dangerous,” Mendez said. (h/t MMA News). “Max Holloway would be the easiest for Khabib. Max has good boxing but it lacks the power to the lightweight division. Next on the list is Dustin Poirier. He’s got stamina and versatility. Tony Ferguson is my second choice. His elbows are very dangerous. And finally the number one contender for me is still Conor. His boxing is special, that’s his chance.”
Dangerous
It’s an interesting point, although we do have to wonder how much money is affecting his thinking there. We would like to see a rematch, especially if McGregor had a more aggressive strategy against the Russian. However, the two men we believe most likely to beat the Russian are Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
Ferguson is just eccentric enough to get it done. He’s also exceptionally good off of his back. His 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu might just be the ticket to beat the apparently unbeatable. Meanwhile, Gaethje is a wild man and an exceptional wrestler in his own right. That could be a very interesting match-up.
In the meantime, Khabib has Dustin Poirier up next. If ‘The Diamond’ were to pull off the upset it would probably be the biggest shock in MMA since Holly Holm almost decapitated Ronda Rousey.
