“It Is Islam’s Job to Be…”: Islam Makhachev’s Coach Gets Brutally Honest on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Absence

The current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, is all set to fight against Alexander Volkanovski. The two will come face to face at UFC 284, which is to be held on February 11 at the RAC Arena in Perth. There is no doubt that Makhachev, with a record of 23 victories and a single loss, has a high chance of winning. However, when his opponent is Volkanovski, who has a spectacular record of 25 victories and one loss, it is difficult to predict the winner. Additionally, there is one particular thing that many speculate might affect the performance of Islam Makhachev. Many believe that the absence of Khabib Nurmagomedov might weaken his performance. Nonetheless, his coach, Javier Mendez, has some brutally honest words for Nurmagomedov.

Islam Makhachev versus Alexander Volkanovski

The coach of Makhachev took to his YouTube channel to talk about the upcoming bout between Makhachev and ‘The Great’. When asked about how dedicated Makhachev is, the coach gave the perfect life advice that Makhachev needs to follow. Mendez said, “You know there’s an old question of how is it going to do without Khabib there. Alex is saying he doesn’t want anything away from his victory. Should he get a victory?”. 

The coach went on to explain how a fighter’s only aim should be victory. No other distractions or reasons have any relevance when it comes to a fight. All that matters is whether someone won or not. To reinforce the point, the coach continued, “You can use whatever you want to use, but the bottom line is it’s your job to be ready for a win. It’s Islam’s job to be ready for a win regardless of whether you know no one’s Islam’s job to be ready for a win regardless of whether nones in his corner or people that are in his corner are incompetent, you know. It doesn’t matter. What matters is just him and Alex and he has to accept the consequences, just like me as a coach.”

The brotherly bond between Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov have been teammates for a long time. Makhachev has always been quite vocal about his respect and admiration for the UFC legend. Their bond is quite strong; they both used to be present for each other’s fights in their corner to support each other. Nurmagomedov took care of Makhachev as a coach soon after he retired from the position in 2021.

READ MORE: Khabib Nurmagomedov Finally Meets His Childhood Hero

 The two fighters are not biologically related, despite the fact that they resemble one another. Nurmagomedov and Makhachev shared their childhood in Dagestan. Under the guidance of Nurmagomedov’s late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, both fighters started their careers at the same time. However, the audience has to wait and watch to find out what the outcome of Makhachev’s bout will be in the absence of Nurmagomedov.

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