Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov established his dominance through his wrestling, grappling and ground-and-pound game. But from time to time, he chooses to showcase what he can do on the feet, Bloody Elbow reports.
If it were up to his coach Javier Mendez, “The Eagle” would stick to his strengths, which is to get the fight to the mat.
“Never ever forget your best weapon, and that should always be your go-to weapon,” he told his fighters after one practice session at the American Kickboxing Academy. “I’ll just use Khabib in this case. His go-to weapon is the ground. I still, to this day, have yet to see somebody in the 155-pound division that can handle him in that area.
“Everybody here knows how good Khabib’s stand up is. Because you guys have all seen it,” he said. “But the real world doesn’t know how good it is because I don’t allow him to do it. And his father doesn’t allow him to do it," Mendez said. His philosophy is more about getting the win over putting on a show for fans to see.
