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Khabib’s coach: “MMA has never been a true sport!”
Javier Mendez, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Photo via Instagram (@akajav)MMA
During a recent episode of his podcast on YouTube, Javier Mendez, former coach of Khabib Nurmagomedov, shared his thoughts on one of the flipsides of modern mixed martial arts. According to the veteran coach, the most popular fighters often dictate who they get to face next, driven more by audience demand than by actual merit.
“How many times do I say this is not a true sport? It’s [MMA] never been a true sport,” Mendez claimed. “Boxing is also not a true sport either and never will be, as long as people can choose who they want to put on because pay-per-view numbers and eyeballs on the screen create this situation.”
“Boxing too, because if it were a true sport, you wouldn’t have people in the WBA or WBC saying, ‘I’m not fighting that guy.’ They win a WBA title, and the next thing you know, they don’t want to fight certain opponents, so they move on. Why? Because they can. Is it a true sport? No, because if it’s a true sport, you would fight X amount against X amount.”
Javier Mendez coached some absolute top level fighters
Javier Mendez is widely recognized as one of the top coaches in MMA. He is the head coach at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), which produced numerous UFC champions and is considered one of the most successful gyms globally.
Mendez coached the likes of former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier and undefeated former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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