Photo Credit: Andrius Petrucenia
UFC 254 is coming and the biggest matchup is Khabib Nurmagomedov VS Justin Gaethje for the UFC Lightweight Championship. Khabib just came off a win over Dustin Poirier last year. Khabib was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson earlier this year, but obviously COVID-19 happened and Khabib was stuck in Russia which led to Tony Ferguson fighting Justin Gaethje for the Interim Lightweight Championship, a fight that Justin Gaethje end up winning. The UFC then scheduled a championship fight between Nurmagomedov vs Gaethje for October 24th.
When reached out for comments on the upcoming fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s head coach, Javier Mendez, had this to say.
VF: “When did you first start working with Khabib?”
Mendez: “Back in 2012 after a person I was coaching told me about Khabib.”
VF: “Do you think Justin Gaethje will be the toughest fight that Khabib has had?”
Mendez: “Yes only because he hasn’t fought him yet, and we have to prepare for him correctly.”
VF: “Do you think Khabib retires at 30-0? Because before Khabib’s father and former head coach died, he and his father talked about Khabib retiring at 30-0.”
Mendez: “I think he will retire at 30-0.”
VF: “How has Khabib been training while we live through COVID-19?”
Mendez: “Changed a lot normally he trains at my gym. It’s been difficult to move to different places, but it’s been really good.”
VF: “How many people are you training for UFC 254?”
Mendez: “Cynthia Calvillo, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Umar Nurmagomedov.”
And at the end of the interview, he talked about what was the focus on the fight vs Tony Ferguson but with the fight unable to happen because of COVID-19, he said “Never was supposed to be on Tony, George St. Pierre was always the end goal.” Also when Mendez was talking about St. Pierre, he was talking about Khabib’s last fight after Justin Gaethje. He also said if George St. Pierre doesn’t work out, maybe Conor McGregor and “fighters are mostly to themselves. 10 days before a fight, they will go to fight island.”
Justin Gaethje’s wrestling coach, Ben Cherrington, was also interviewed and asked on how he started coaching Gaethje, as well as their mindset on the fight.
VF: “How did you meet Justin Gaethje?”
Cherrington: “University of Northern Colorado 2007, my first year coaching there and Gaethje’s freshmen year.”
VF: “How is Justin getting ready for Khabib?”
Cherrington: “Working more on wrestling defense, making it tough for Khabib to gain control.”
VF: “Is Justin nervous for the fight?”
Cherrington: “There are some nerves although Justin would say no nerves.”
VF: “How long have you been training Justin?
Cherrington: “2007/ Dustin Poirier fight then working with him in MMA.”
VF: “How much weight has Justin cut and how is it for Justin to cut weight the night before the weigh-ins?”
Cherrington: ”He’s cut 10 pounds, usually on Thursday does a night workout for 2-hour training and then gets in the Sauna, Friday 9:00am run, and then jumps in the bathtub.”
VF: “What do you think is Justin’s advantage over Khabib?
Cherrington: “I think his stand-up, amazing footwork, great accuracy. On paper, Justin’s better.”
VF: “When will y’all go to fight island?
Cherrington: “A week before the fight.”
VF: “How was working with Justin’s Head Coach?”
Cherrington: “Working with Trevor is great, an amazing person, we both want what’s best for Justin.”
VF: “How was it for Justin training during COVID-19?”
Cherrington: “COVID-19 made us take a step back, had to stop working with teammates and sparring partners and more with his coaches.”
Learning from both coaches, Khabib and Justin are working hard for this fight despite the circumstances of this year. This fight is going to be tough for both guys, Khabib has good wrestling skills while Justin has a good stand-up game. Also on the card are some great fighters like Robert Whittaker, who is a former UFC Middleweight Champion, also Jared Cannonier, Alexander Volkov, Walt Harris, Islam Makhachev, Rafael dos Anjos, and Cynthia Calvillo. All indications are that the matchups are going to be awesome fights and UFC 254 will be a great pay-per-view.
