AKA head coach Javier Mendez has revealed Khabib
Nurmagomedov is the only person allowed to train in his gym right now.
The revered MMA trainer says his gym is closed to the public and all other fighters as they strive to keep the lightweight champion healthy.
“Just Khabib,” Javier Mendez told ESPN. “That’s it. Nobody else is allowed. No one is coming. Just Khabib. … We’ve gotta keep it safe for him.”
In the undefeated Russians’ mind, he’s fighting no matter what on April 18. Even if for some reason challenger Tony Ferguson falls out.
“Khabib
expects to fight somebody if something happens to Tony,” Mendez said.
“He expects to fight somebody. One top guy. Whatever. And then he’ll go
back after Tony. That’s the way he looks at it. He’s expecting to fight.
“It’s not like, ‘Tony is out; forget it I’m not
fighting.’ He’s training to fight somebody. It’s not like he has it in for
Tony. He doesn’t have it in for Tony. [Ferguson is] a top guy. He’s the very
best right now that he could face. So that’s why [Khabib] wants to face
him.”
The AKA head coach admits his fighter has been somewhat distracted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, he insists training has not let up and won’t until they are told something different by UFC president Dana White.
“It’s affected him a little bit,” Mendez said. “But he has to fight. His attitude is, ‘I’ve got to fight. I’m here to fight and, until they tell me otherwise, I’m training to fight.’ So until Dana [White] says, ‘Get the foot off the pedal, we can’t make it happen,’ Khabib is going to stick to that mindset.”
Despite still pressing on with fight camp, Mendez isn’t convinced the UFC will be able to find a suitable location for the fight. Its previous host site of Brooklyn, New York was officially scrapped last night and the promotion is trying to find a new host country, city, and venue.
“I
know Dana will do everything in his power to make it happen, but I don’t know
if he will make it happen. I can’t say for sure he will. I’m not sure if they
can pull it off, because [White] can’t control governments. … I want it to
happen, obviously. Nobody gets paid if nobody goes to work.”
Nurmagomedov doesn’t share his coach’s opinion and is pressing ahead with training as if nothing has changed according to Mendez who said.
“His attitude is the fight is happening. His
sparring was fantastic on Monday, trust me. He’s training like the fight is
gonna happen and I’m teaching him like the fight is gonna happen and telling
him the fight is gonna happen.”
Will UFC
249 take place on April 18 as planned?