Javier Mendez gives the lion’s share of credit to Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, for the success
of his Dagestani fighters.
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Mendez has formed a close bond with the Dagestani contingent over
the course of years since Nurmagomedov first walked into the
American Kickboxing Academy in 2012. Nurmagomedov went on to
establish his status in MMA GOAT conversations by dominating the
UFC’s lightweight division during his title reign before
retiring with a perfect record.
Following in Nurmagomedov’s footsteps, his teammates and cousins
also came under the tutelage of Mendez, bringing a plethora of
talent to AKA. Mendez is now coach to UFC lightweight champ
Islam
Makhachev (26-1), Bellator lightweight champ Usman
Nurmagomedov (17-0) and UFC bantamweight contender Umar
Nurmagomedov (13-0), who made his case for the next gold bid
with a unanimous decision victory over Cory
Sandhagen last weekend at
UFC on ABC 7.
However, Mendez humbly credits Abdulmanap for the formidable
brigade of Dagestani talent with which he has been blessed. Widely
regarded as the pioneer of MMA in Dagestan, the elder Nurmagomedov
is credited for laying down a roadmap for his son and other
students to achieve championship glory, which is now known as
“father’s plan.” Abdulmanap passed away in July 2020 at the age of
57 due to complications from COVID-19. “The Eagle” retired months
later after defending his title against Justin
Gaethje at UFC 254, citing a promise he made to his mother to
not fight without his father in his corner.
Mendez says it would have been Abdulmanap speaking about the
Dagestani stars he coached had he been alive today.
“I believe it’s his father, Abdulmanap. It was ‘father’s plan’ and
how he worked his boys from little kids on up,” Mendez told The
Schmo. “And had he still been alive, he’d be the one doing all the
interviews and talking about his kids — how did he get them to this
point. I just happen to be coming in at the tail end of it. I had
my parts, don’t get me wrong. But this is basically ‘father’s
plan.’ That’s why I always make sure I say ‘father’s plan’ just to
respect and honor the great Abdulmanap.”