The team at Action Network recently sat down to speak with legendary MMA trainer, Javier Mendez.
We spoke with Khabib Nurmagomedov's former trainer on a wide range of topics, see the highlights and the interview below.
Interview Highlights
- Cornering alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov is ‘a work in progress’
- I’m ‘nervous’ for Umar Nurmagomedov against Merab Dvalishvili
- There’s no legacy in Islam Makhachev facing Ilia Topuria
- Conor McGregor is ‘the boy who cried wolf’–‘the UFC never needed him’
- Focus on Paul Hughesnot McGregor is my advice to Usman Nurmagomedov
- Colby Covington will be remembered as Chael Sonnen 2.0
If McGregor shows up in Paul Hughes' corner, how motivating is this going to be for Usman?
I think it might be [motivating], but my job is to get him to just focus on Paul Hughes. I need him to stay focused on Paul Hughes, not Conor, not anybody else, because we need him to be focused on the person in front of him. And a lot of the times, when a fighter does stuff like that, it could go bad against them. You can perform better, but you can also perform worse.
So it's better to focus on the fight. Like, for instance, with Arman, right? He's going to be motivated because Khabib's there. Well, to me, it's better if he just focuses on Islam rather than Khabib being there. Is it motivating you to perform? You should be just looking to perform.
Just focus on Paul Hughes. That's it. That's the most dangerous guy that's in front of you, not the other guy [Conor]. The other guy can't hit you. The other guy can't submit you. The other guy can't knock you out. The guy that's right across from you, he can knock you out. So that's your focus, not the other guy.
If you see McGregor in Dubai, will you still hold a grudge?
I don't hold a grudge, but I don't like the way he conducts himself. So I'm not going to make an effort to go speak to the man. No, I will not. I will not make an effort. Now, I'm not saying I have a beef with him. I don't have beef with him. That's him and Khabib.
But I don't have beef with him, so I'm not going to be on his side by any means. And I'm Team Khabib till I die. I'm Team Khabib. But I don't have beef with the man. I'm not going to go up to him and say, "Hey, you!" I don't have anything bad to say about him in that regard in person, and I have no desire, and I will not go up and shake his hand.
No, I will not do that. If he and Khabib make up? Yes, okay, no problem. But till that point, no.
How valuable is Conor McGregor to the company in 2025?
Not as valuable based on that civil suit that went against him. I 100% do not look at his value the same. I do not. Those kinds of situations kill you. Look what happened to Mike Tyson and what happened to him.
So no, he's not as valuable. But that's what happens when you get caught doing something like that; you lose a lot of what you had.
So those individuals that are involved in those types of situations should be very wary of the consequences of your actions, and that's a major one right there.
Does the UFC need him anymore?
The UFC never needed him. The UFC never needed anyone. So no, they don't need him. They don't need anyone. The UFC is a machine by itself. They can still go and sell out events without advertising who's fighting. I know they can.
They're the mega-machine. They don't need anybody. And their product has always been to promote the UFC, not the fighter. If a fighter comes out great, no problem. But the promotion is always going to be about the promotion, which is the right thing for them to do. It's all about the promotion and not about the fighter.
And once they change it, they're going to lose their status, but they're not going to change it. They're too smart.
What is the next chapter for Conor McGregor?
He's very angry at the present time, because what's happened to him, whether it's justified or not, I have no idea. I just know he lost a civil suit, and this is what happens when you lose a civil suit. And I would think he wants to show the world who he is, and I would think he would want to come back. But whether he does or not, I don't know. I mean, we've been hearing this forever. So it's kind of like the boy crying wolf, right?
It’s been a long time since he fought, so it's kind of hard to get up and go. And then, he has the finances, so the only thing would be, does he want this thing to go away and fade off like you're saying, or does he want to come roaring back and show people that, no, I'm not going to come
back.It's up to him. I don't know. I don't know what he's going to do. But I just think that he definitely is angry about it. Of course, you have to be. You couldn't be settled on what happened. He lost so much sponsorship, right? Proper Twelve and everybody distanced themselves from him. So that's going to hurt. That's going to hurt the pride. Not too much the money, but everything else. It's a big hurt for him. So let's see what he does.
Will it be a combination of you both, or will it just be one voice in the corner at 311?
It'll be a combination of me and Khabib [giving advice in the corner]. It cannot be just him [Khabib]. It has to be both of us because we have different things that we see, and we need to both give our opinions.
It’s very important. Even a third or fourth [voice] too is okay. But the most important thing is we have to let Khabib and me do our talking.
At the very beginning, Khabib would get a little crazy, and he wouldn’t let me talk, and he’d say [afterwards], “Coach, how was it? How was it?” I’d go, “It was great but you just didn’t let me talk.” He goes, “sorry, sorry.” So then [next time] he does better. Then he goes, “Okay, coach, your turn.” So we go back and forth. It’s just a work in progress. I mean, he’s such a great coach that for me, it’s just fun to watch him turn into just one of the greatest coaches ever. I think it’s unbelievable for me to see that with my own eyes.
What challenges come with cornering in back to back title fights?
It's no big deal. We've done it before. The only thing that's different is two world title fights back to back. But as far as having a semi-main and the main event, I'm used to that. That's no big deal. And on top of that, Khabib is a really good coach now and has taken over the reins, so I'm coming in as the overseer, more or less, like the mentor. I'm his mentor. I'm the coach, but he controls everything.
But if I wanted to step in, they'd let me step in. But I don't. You want to see somebody grow, you got to let them grow. You can't take the lead role all the time, because they need to show their experience. I’m on the sidelines. I’ll work the mitts with them, the strategy and everything. I give Khabib advice all the time, but the control is more on him now than it is me with these guys.
Topuria says he wants to come up and fight Charles, and then he wants Islam at the back end of next year. Does he get past Charles, do you think?
Topuria could [beat Charles]. He definitely could. The bottom line is–the guy's a major, major athlete, and he's got great boxing, the best boxing technically out of everybody that I've seen. In my opinion, he's the best technical boxer of anybody. So he could definitely get by Charles.
He can definitely do that. But let's see what happens. Let's see if that comes through. I read that he was like 187 at the present time or something like that. I'm not sure if that's correct. Don't quote me on that. But if that is correct, I've never known Islam to be past 180. When Islam usually comes into camp, he's like 177, somewhere in that general area, 177, 178. Islam is always in great shape. So 187, I've never known Islam to be that heavy since I've known him. So he's a big boy. He's 5 foot 7, so he's pretty thick.
I didn't realize he was that thick. And maybe next time when I'm around him, I'll look and see how thick he is, because his face looks thin, right? His face looks very thin, but I guess his body is a little bit like Alex Volkanovski—a teeny bit like that. But the Volkanovski is a little bit thicker, but it's the same kind of structure.
Topuria – if he wants to move up, should he be stripped, or should he be allowed to fight for a double champ situation?
He should be allowed to fight for a double champ situation if the promotion wants him to. Why not? And look, in boxing, it’s been happening forever, where Henry Armstrong back in the day used to defend three titles. He had three titles that he held and he defended. DC had two titles. He should be allowed to.
Would Islam travel to his backyard to fight in Madrid, Spain, the Bernabeu?
No. Islam is only interested in fighting whoever is next. And if Topuria fights Charles, like you say, or another lightweight, and the UFC decides to put him in with Islam, okay, no problem. But, let’s see what happens because you never know. Islam may want to go after the welterweight title if Shavkat and Belal Muhammad doesn’t end up the right way, Islam might want to go up because it’s the same thing.
Islam can’t go to featherweight, but he can go to welterweight. So the bigger challenge for him and the bigger legacy status is to go to welterweight, not go to featherweight. Why go fight a featherweight that’s going up to lightweight? I’d rather fight a welterweight because you don’t get nothing by fighting the featherweight.
There’s nothing. There’s no incentive there. Other than maybe pay-per-view dollars, which I don’t think Topuria is quite there where it’s going to be a major pay-per-view like a Conor McGregor-type situation.
If Topuria does move up and beats Charles, is your instinct that Islam may be gone from the division by that point?
It’s possible. Anything’s possible. I mean, who knows? We may end up having to fight Topuria at a later point, too. That’s possible, too. I’m not against it. Whatever the UFC wants is what’s going to happen. Islam’s not going to say no. If they offer him Topuria, but first we got to get by Arman, we can’t disrespect Arman.
We got to worry about Arman. He’s got something to say about it, and he’s something to be looked at as a very, very dangerous individual because he’s respecting Team Khabib so much. So I’m expecting a very well-trained and disciplined, mentally, and physically ready fighter with the right game plan. So that’s what I’m expecting from Arman based on his interviews and the way he’s conducting himself. We’re in for a fight.
How are you going to manage back to back world title fights?
I’m the most experienced person of probably anybody in the world in cornering MMA fights, I think I handle it better than anybody because I have the most experience. So that being the case, I’m not going to have an issue with it whatsoever. It’s going to be easy for me. Not a problem.
My nerves aren’t going to be there. I’m very good now with the nerves. I don’t get nervous, hardly at all. I may get a little bit, but not much. The Merab-Umar fight might get me a little bit nervous because that’s such a really, really tough fight. It’s not an easy fight, and that one’s going to be a tough one because Merab’s got incredible cardio.
So we have to be very careful with that one, and Khabib and I have to plan the strategy perfectly, along with Umar having to follow the plan. And if our plan doesn’t work for him, he has to find a way to make it work for himself.
Arman says Khabib's presence in the corner is motivating for him. What would you make of those comments?
I think Arman is a great competitor. I think he's coming in with the right mindset, and it's a very dangerous mindset. He's given a lot of respect, and that just means he knows what he's up for. He knows the challenge ahead of him.
So Arman has been nothing but a gentleman throughout this whole process, and I give him nothing but props. I respect everything he's doing. And I admire everything he's doing, and I have to respect how great of a competitor he is, and I have to make sure that when I get there
What do you think is going to be the decisive factor in this fight between
I think the deciding factor is going to be where we can control the match, whether it be the stand-up or be on the ground. That's going to be the decisive matter, because, listen, if we go to the ground, Arman can deal with the ground. If we go to stand-up, Arman can deal with the stand-up, so he's good everywhere, so we have to see where we have an advantage. I don't know just yet.
The bottom line is Arman’s good everywhere. He's very athletic, he's got a really, really good ground game, very strong, very explosive. So those are big strengths that he has, but then there's weaknesses, as we all know, with Charles Oliveira. He was in trouble a few times so there's weaknesses there.
But there's strengths there, too, and also you can't judge him from his last fight, because you're not fighting the same person, you're fighting either a better person or you're fighting a worse person. Generally, when you're fighting for a world title and which Arman's doing, you're going to fight a better person. So I always tell my guys you be prepared for the best Arman you've ever had, because if you prepare for the Arman you saw last time. That's a big mistake. He's pumped up, motivated. Everybody wants that title.
How is Islam physically, mentally, and spiritually, at the moment?
Khabib says everything is going fantastic. He's just left you a message ‘Coach, we're waiting for you. Everybody's here. We're here. We need you here, coach, we're waiting for you here’. I can just tell you what I've been told, and that everything's fantastic. Umar, Islam and Tahir are looking fantastic. That's what I've been told.
How hands on is Khabib?
Yes, that's the one thing that he's doing that his father and I didn't do. I didn't interact with the fighters on that level. I interact with them on a mental level and on working with them on punching and kicking. But Khabib interacts with these guys on every single level. He can go from striking to the ground. He mostly does the ground.
He lets me do the stand up with these guys, but he can do it all. Khabib can do it all . Whatever he wants to do he can. I'm more the mentor to him. I'm the head coach. Don't get me wrong, but it's more Khabib's team. Khabib runs them, and I'm the mentor to Khabib.
What happened with Nate Diaz throwing the water?
I have no idea, but he's notorious for throwing water bottles at Team Khabib. I don't know. I mean, Nate Diaz is Nate Diaz. I respect Nate Diaz. Hey, if those guys are going to fight. They're going to fight. I have nothing but respect for Nate Diaz. He's a warrior. That's a true G, I mean, I can only laugh about it. That's it, because it's funny to me.
How long did Umar know about this fight?
He wasn't preparing for Merab. He was preparing for whoever, because Merab and the UFC and them couldn't align when they were going to fight. So there was a lot of communication going on back and forth. "No, I can't fight during Ramadan." "No, I want to fight during this time." And there was a lot of uncertainty on both sides. Umar's only side was, "I can't fight during Ramadan. I'll fight anybody, Morab, who cares. I just want to fight. I need to fight." He has his own legacy he's going for. It's not the title per se. He's got his own legacy that he wants to obtain. He wants to hit the 29 and 0 like Khabib. And in order to do that, you can't be delaying your fights.
You have to take whatever comes in front of you, because the title is not as important as the legacy for him, accomplishing that feat. Can you imagine? 29 and 0. Maybe he goes 30 and 0, and then he retires. Who knows? But he's got a ways to go, because that's 11 fights, and 11 fights from now, that's a long time.
That's not an easy task to attain. So we can't be worried about, "Oh, well, we weren't going to fight if Merab's on the table." No, fight whoever. We discussed this, and he said he's not going to wait for him. He's going to fight whoever. And I believe it happened exactly like Dana White said. I believe that Merab came in and talked to Dana. And I believe that Dana called Umar, or through Umar's management. And Umar said, "Yes, brother, I'll fight." I believe that's exactly what happened. I haven't talked to him about it because I feel, in my personal opinion, that Dana White would have never made those comments had that not been what exactly happened. So I believe that's exactly what happened.
What is Colby’s legacy if he retires?
If Colby retires he’d be [remembered as a] Chael Sonnen 2.0. He never won the title, but he was hyped. He knew what he was doing. He was a good fighter, and he was a world competitor and for darn sure and worthy of world title shots. So he’s the Chael Sonnen 2.0. That’s my opinion.
Do you think they'll stick with ESPN, or do you think it's going to be Netflix? What do you anticipate in that respect?
I anticipate them going bigger and bigger all the time. So whoever's got the biggest deal for them, they're going to be able to nab it. And rightfully so, because listen, this presidential election where Joe Rogan went with President Trump. That created a huge buzz for MMA, and Trump supporting MMA made MMA in a huge way— bigger and more accepted. And, of course, it helped Trump get elected also. So Trump, in turn, has returned the favor. He always has, though. He's always been a supporter of the UFC from way back, when there was an Atlantic City at Trump Plaza. They used to throw the UFC there, so he's been a major supporter of the UFC from way back then.
But him coming on board and on the Joe Rogan show just enhanced MMA worldwide even bigger.
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