Remember when Khabib Nurmagomedov missed his date with Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 after falling ill while cutting weight?
Yeah, apparently that was no big deal.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Nurmagomedov’s head coach, American Kickboxing Academy frontman Javier Mendez, explained that the entire situation really wasn’t that bad.
“You know, the last time, people were making too much of his weight cut, talking about it was disastrous, he wasn’t gonna make weight, just because his opponent says he wasn’t gonna make weight and he made fun of it. He was on schedule to make weight, his body just failed on him,” Mendez said. “It’s like, how many times do you see a fighter get ready for a fight and all of a sudden kidney stones or something happens to him? Look, it does have a lot to do with losing weight that causes these problems, but it wasn’t that he wasn’t gonna make weight, he was gonna make weight, he wasn’t over anything, he was just like where he normally is. And just the thing with Khabib is, he doesn’t like to say anything about it, and he still won’t say anything about it.
“And then there’s that tiramisu bullsh*t. You know, he don’t eat that stuff, he never ate that stuff. He’s with a bunch of fighters that aren’t in camp and not fighting, so they’re not allowed to eat because he’s not allowed to eat? It’s like stupid, you know? Too much has been made up of something that wasn’t even there.”
Whether or not Khabib’s failed weight cut back in March was anything his team needs to worry about moving forward, the undefeated lightweight contender will have his chance at redemption next weekend at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 when he takes on a streaking and very dangerous Edson Barboza.
While Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe you should ask a fighter how much he weighs, he did mention that his current weight leading into another 155-pound cut is “perfect.”
Should Nurmagomedov turn Barboza into prey at UFC 219 he’ll be half way through the door to a lightweight title shot. The promotion may still be reluctant to give Khabib a leading pay-per-view (PPV) role after the Russian’s weight debacle earlier this year, but the budding title challenger could prove his worthiness once more with a decisive finish over “Junior.”
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