“So I’m Gonna Support Whatever Decision He Makes”- Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Coach Opens Up On Retirement Possibilities

Khabib Nurmagomedov lost his father Abdulmanap late last week. The patriarch fell victim partly due to contracting the coronavirus and partly due to the ensuing complications. The family is in grieving at present and there is no official word on how this will impact ‘The Eagle’s next title defense tentatively scheduled for September. Whilst, he is used to not having his father at his corner for a large number of his fights, this time he will not have advice even at home.

The 2nd ranked pound-for-pound fighter’s coach Javier Mendez appeared on MMA on SiriusXM. In a chat with Luke Thomas, he tried to shed light on the future for the Dagestani fighter.

Mendez implied that it could be hard for his protegee in the coming days. He said, “It’s kinda hard, cause I don’t know how much of the fight plan he depended on his father for. I do know that every time I gave him a plan or I talked to him about certain things he goes ‘yes yes I know. Father says the same thing.’”

Here Mendez reasons that Abdulmanap and he were always on the same page when it came to readying Khabib for battle. The coach said,  “It seems like his father and I were always on the same wave of thinking on everything related to him...So a lot of common ground between myself and his father is that we had the same way of thinking.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov has his coach’s backing

At this point, Mendez revealed that he isn’t aware of what the UFC Lightweight Champion is thinking ahead of September. However, he promised to get behind him as long as he feels it is right. 

Mendez said, “All I can say is whatever he wants to do I’ll be behind him because he needs support from me in any capacity, I can give it. So if he wants to fight I’m with him if he doesn’t, I’m with him. If he retires I’m with him, if he doesn’t I’m with him. So I’m gonna support whatever decision he makes. As long as I feel it’s the right decision for him. If I don’t feel it’s the right decision I’ll speak out about it, but right now it’s hard to speculate.”

It certainly will be hard to read Khabib Nurmagomedov’s mind, but fans hope that he will return and carry on the dominance that his father trained him for. ‘The Eagle’ revealed that he was training harder as a way to get his mind off his troubles. He could employ the same strategy and unlock a new level. 

What decision do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov will take?