They don’t make them like Khabib Nurmagomedov anymore. Throwback to the 90’s era of the UFC, when grapplers and wrestlers like Royce Gracie, Mark Coleman, and Randy Couture used to wipe the floor with strikers. But in the modern era of the sport, when people are much more well-rounded, and strikers have many tools to deal with grapplers, ‘The Eagle’ stalking his opponents before inevitably taking them down and mauling them there, was a sight to behold.
At least that is what BKFC superstar Mike Perry thinks. In a conversation with Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, ‘Platinum’ asked him about Nurmagomedov’s limited striking.
“Khabib reminds me a little bit of Royce, the way that you were describing how his striking was newer, or he technically just got to striking. Yeah, Royce Gracie got to the UFC, and then it’s like he learned a jab and then he learned a front kick. and it was all just to get him to position so he could drag you to the floor,” Perry said. In reply, the AKA head coach agreed and explained exactly why ‘The Eagle’ didn’t work on his striking much, unlike, say, Islam Makhachev or Umar Nurmagomedov.
“The whole point was I wanted him to use what he was better than anyone in the world at and nobody could stop him at. I didn’t want him to test his striking ever, because he was better than everybody on the ground. So why the hell would I risk, you know, him. And his father put him in my care,” he said.
“That’s why, when his father passed away, I created ‘Father’s Plan’ so we never forget the legendary, you know, Abdulmanap and the great contribution he did through his students. I didn’t wanna ever disrespect that man by changing his son to something I thought would benefit him. If nobody can dominate you on the ground, why would I bother with trying to play with the stand up?” the legendary coach added.
One of the reasons Nurmagomedov never used his striking was because he never really needed to. Everyone knew what he wanted to do, but no one could stop him. He was just too strong, his takedowns too insurmountable, and his wrestling too domineering.
Shaq never really worked on his jump shot or his three-pointers because he didn’t need to. He was just unstoppable in the paint. And like Shaq in the NBA, ‘The Eagle’ was the most dominant fighter in the history of the UFC. And his cousin, Umar, looks like he is following in ‘The Eagle’s footsteps.
Javier Mendez confirms Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin fought with broken hand
Umar Nurmagomedov looked well on his way to winning the UFC’s bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili by the final bell of the second round of their UFC 311 clash. But things took a rapid left turn for ‘Young Eagle’ in the third, as Dvalishvili rallied back and dominated him in the last three to win a unanimous decision. After the fight, Umar claimed he had broken his hand in the first, but kept on fighting valiantly, which has been confirmed by coach Mendez.
“He didn’t say one word to Khabib or I about, ‘My hand was broken,’… So, I heard something about a broken hand, and my mind is thinking, ‘Why is Umar talking about a broken hand. His sparring was great, he didn’t show any indication that his hand was broken. So, right after the fight. I went back to the room after Islam’s fight, and there was Umar with his finger almost off. And I’m looking at him like that, saying ‘What the hell is this?’ I didn’t know! He broke it in the first round, he didn’t tell us, he didn’t show us, we didn’t know, I wish he had told us,” Mendez said.
So not only did Umar keep fighting with a broken hand, but he also didn’t tell his team he had broken it because he probably didn’t want them to stop the fight. The Dagestani bantamweight may have lost his ‘O’ in the Merab fight, but the heart and warrior spirit that he showed certainly marked him as a true successor to Khabib and his legendary father, Abdulmanap. What do you think about Javier Mendez’s comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s striking?
The post Coach Javier Mendez Comes Clean on Refusing to Let Khabib Nurmagomedov Improve His ‘Striking’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.
