Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Coach Says Conor McGregor Rematch Will Never Happen

In an interview with Submission Radio (h/t MMA Weekly), Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, discussed Conor McGregor’s recent loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, and how he thinks McGregor would have been beaten easily had he fought Khabib.

On his thoughts on McGregor vs. Poirier: “When I saw Dustin start going for the leg kicks, I go, oh my god, Conor’s stance is not made for checking properly, leg kicks like that. Especially calf kicks. So, I thought that was going to be a major problem. And then when he hit Dustin with the good shot and Dustin took it, that’s when I kind of knew, oh boy, things are gonna change. And sure enough, they did. And it was a great game plan from Dustin to work the leg kicks, calf kicks. And it was a bad judgement on Conor’s part to not be prepared for that.”

On being surprised that McGregor wasn’t prepared: “I don’t understand how you cannot be prepared for something like that, when that’s what everyone’s going to. Khabib, I told him, I reminded him every day that Justin (Gaethje) is coming after your legs, Justin’s coming after your legs. Every day I was telling him that. And you would think that you would be reminded also because that’s a big weapon. Until fighters learn how to deal with it, it’s gonna be a big weapon, guys, big weapon.”

On how he thinks Khabin would have beaten McGregor: “He would’ve got smashed. Khabib’s gotten better. He would’ve gotten smashed. He would have gotten smashed. Straight up. Khabib’s better. He’s better than he was when they fought two years ago. Conor didn’t appear to be better. He’s regressed a little bit. Khabib’s gotten way better. He would have gotten smashed.”

On how a McGregor vs. Khabib rematch won’t ever happen now: “You’re never gonna get that rematch. Just like you’re never going to get the Tony (Ferguson) and Khabib fight. That’s never gonna happen either. It’s not gonna happen. I mean, Khabib doesn’t need it. He seems fulfilled. And like I said, I think the only juicy part for him is what his father wanted, GSP. I’ve said it many times. And who knows, maybe that’s out of the question now. Maybe GSP doesn’t want it, maybe Khabib don’t want it now. I don’t know, cause I never talked to Khabib about what he wants, I’ve always listened to him.”