"The GOAT for me is Khabib, and I would put Jon Jones in that category, but I can't," Mendez said on the Ahmed Mahmood show. "If you're caught doing something you shouldn't have been doing, how can you be considered at the top of the league? This is a true sport, and in a true sport you cannot put that person ahead.
Cormier immediately called out both of them for not following any rules. Cormier noted that their famous games of Dagestani basketball is a mixture of rugby and basketball with almost no rules. Cormier would preferably not include them on any team as they would try to modify the rules according to their convenience. However, if bound to choose, Cormier would pick Nurmagomedov, whom he sees as the bigger and rougher one.
Khabib is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. "The Eagle" defended the UFC lightweight title thrice before retiring as the undefeated champion in 2020, following the death of his father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Khabib's teammates, Umar, Usman Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and others were all originally honed by Abdulmanap. Khabib has taken leadership of the team following his retirement alongside American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez.
Kamaru Usman has never shared the mat with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev despite being close friends with them. Usman is currently rallying for a welterweight title fight against Makhachev. Many believe the matchup is being plotted by their common manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Courtesy of Abdelaziz, Usman is a close friend of Makhachev and his mentor, Nurmagomedov. However, "The Nigerian Nightmare" surprisingly revealed that he never had the opportunity of training with either Makhachev or Nurmagomedov.
Khabib is an idol of the sport. Everyone wants to be like him, Anderson, Jon Jones, 'Poatan' - they are all great idols. When I saw him there at the PI leading a training session for his students, I took the opportunity to ask him about a takedown he does by grabbing one leg,
"He used to be a humble kid, now he's not," Makhachev told Red Corner MMA. "He himself was shocked by the way they recognized him in the U.S. Journalists were waiting in the lobby to get an interview. He went a bit too far, and Khabib slowed him down. He said, 'Chanco, don't chase the hype; the hype has to chase you.' So we slowed him down on time."
Four weeks before the fight, around 30 people are going to come and we train day and night. In the morning we train MMA, and at night we only do cardio. Maybe boxing cardio, wrestling cardio. Two hour morning, two hour night, every day we train four hours. Guys, when they come here, after one week they feel very tired and they try to talk with me, and when they're not successful, they go to Coach Javier.