Javier Mendez: Khabib Nurmagomedov 'that good,' could have been three-weight UFC champion
Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) retired as an undefeated UFC lightweight champion after his father passed away. He fought his final fight against Justin Gaethje in October 2020 without his father in his corner.
Nurmagomedov is widely considered the most dominant fighter in UFC history. No one had an answer for his intense pressure and wrestling, which he used to maul his opponents. Mendez is so high on Nurmagomedov that he thinks he could have captured two more UFC titles.
"From what I remember, the conversations that Khabib and his father had and this was in Russian so it was being interpreted to me, and his father always wanted him at 155," Mendez told MMA Junkie. "(He) was doing great there and if anything, they wanted a legacy fight with GSP. His father envisioned GSP and him.
"For me personally, as his coach since 2012, my personal feeling is that this guy could have won easily the lightweight which he did, the welterweight, and the middleweight. I believe he's that good. He would have 100 percent cleaned the clock on all of those three divisions, in my heart, what I seen in my eyes. I've seen him forever, and I watched what he did, and I watched how he kept improving."
Nurmagomedov's finals three wins came in submission finishes over three of the lightweight division's best strikers in Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Gaethje. Mendez says he saw exponential growth in "The Eagle's" stand up over the years.
"What people don't understand is that he only really did his vast majority of his striking with me so, he wasn't with me, but four, three-and-a-half months of the year, he'd do striking at home, but not with a real coach," Mendez continued. "It was only me and maybe a few of my other coaches, 'Pops' Carvalho, and that's pretty much it. We were the only ones training him. That's why people don't realize that Khabib – watch his evolvement in the striking from one, to another, to another.
"You'll see him jumping up levels. At the very end there, he literally was beating up all the guys in stand up. Just standup, and I'd just put him in with pro boxers, and he'd beat them up in standup, too. That's how good he was getting, but unfortunately the world don't get to see him anymore because without his father, he just didn't feel that it was the right thing. So hey, it all worked out in God's plan, and now it's father's plan."
Nurmagomedov's protege Islam Makhachev will look to capture a second UFC belt when he challenges welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena later in the year.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Coach: Khabib Nurmagomedov could have been three-weight UFC champion
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USA Today
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The line has shifted slightly for this contest. Today, Rebecki is the -210 favorite over the +170 Duncan. Unlike the main event, the favorite in this matchup has the bulk of the bets (71 percent) and handle (90 percent.) The betting pick is Rebecki to score a dominant decision win. UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Elves Brener Vs. Esteban Ribovics A lightweight matchup between Elves Brener (16-5) and Esteban Ribovics (14-2). Ribovics opened as the -300 favorite over the +240 Brener. The line has gotten a little closer on this one, but not by much. Today, Ribovics is listed at -250, while Brener checks in at +200. The bets are split 50-50 on this one, but most of the money is coming in on Brener at 82 percent. The pick is Ribovics to win via decision. UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Karol Rosa Vs. Nora Cornolle In this contest, we have a matchup of ranked women's bantamweight competitors. The fight features No. 10 Karol Rosa (18-7) against No. 12 Nora Cornolle (9-2). Rosa opened as the -160 favorite over the +135 Cornolle. Today, Rosa is listed at -180, while Cornolle comes in at +145. Rosa has picked up more bets (54 percent) and more money has come in on her (59 percent). The pick is for Cornolle to pull of the upset in a decision win. UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Neil Magny Vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos In this contest, we have two veteran welterweight competitors in Neil Magny (29-13) and Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (25-9-1). When the odds opened for this scrap, Magny was the +200 betting underdog to the -250 Dos Santos. The line has tightened for this one. Today, Magny is +150 and Dos Santos -185. While Magny is the betting underdog, the bettors are invested in him with 74 percent of the bets and 75 percent of the handle on Magny. The pick is Zaleski to defeat Magny via decision, but there's a chance of a knockout as well. UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Betting Odds, Line Movement And Predictions - Danny Silva Vs. Kevin Vallejos Opening the UFC Vegas 108 main card is a featherweight scrap between Danny Silva (10-1) and Kevin Vallejos (15-1). Vallejos opened as one of the biggest favorites on the card at -425. Today, he is -450. Silva was a +310 underdog, and is now listed at +340. As is often the case in fights with lopsided odds, bettors are looking for a upset. Silva has 81 percent of the bets and 69 percent of the handle. The pick is for Vallejos to pick up a knockout victory. *Information via BetMGM UFC Vegas 108 Prop Bets To Consider Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park does not go the distance: -200 Tatsuro Taira to beat Hyun Sung Park via submission: +135 Tatsuro Taira to beat Hyun Sung Park via KO/TKO or DQ: +500 Matuesz Rebecki vs. Chris Duncan does not go the distance: -210 Esteban Ribovics to beat Elves Brener inside the distance: +140 Karol Rosa vs. Nora Cornolle to go the distance: -450 Neil Magny to beat Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos by decision: +230 Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos to beat Neil Magny via KO/TKO or DQ: +315 *Odds via BetOnline UFC Vegas 108 Main Card Tatsuro Taira vs. Hyun Sung Park - Flyweight Chris Duncan vs. Mateusz Rebecki - Lightweight Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics - Lightweight Nora Cornolle vs. Karol Rosa - Women's bantamweight Neil Magny vs. Elizeu Zaleski - Welterweight Danny Silva vs. Kevin Vallejos - Featherweight UFC Vegas 108 Preliminary Card Nathan Fletcher vs. Rinya Nakamura - Bantamweight Tresean Gore vs. Rodolfo Vieira - Middleweight Nick Klein vs. Andrey Pulayev - Middleweight Felipe Bunes vs. Rafael Estevam - Flyweight Piera Rodriguez vs. Ketlen Souza - Strawweight UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Date Saturday, August 2, 2025 UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Location UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: How to Watch Or Stream ESPN and ESPN+ UFC Vegas 108 Fight Card: Fight Card Time Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET Main Card: 9:00 p.m. ET We will have more on the UFC Vegas 108 fight card and the main event as fight night nears, including betting odds, picks, predictions and more. As well as full fight card results, reactions and highlights on fight night.
