Two Title Fights, One Khabib Nurmagomedov – Legendary Coach Shares Strategy to Keep Him Calm at UFC 311

The great Javier Mendez has explained how he tries to keep Khabib Nurmagomedov and his fighters calm ahead of fight night.

At UFC 311, we will see two absolutely huge title fights take place. The main event is Islam Makhachev defending his UFC lightweight championship against Arman Tsarukyan. In the co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Umar Nurmagomedov.

In both instances, Khabib Nurmagomedov will be there to coach both his friend and his cousin in what is set to be a blockbuster evening of entertainment. Of course, we all know that Khabib himself was an incredible fighter in his day, but it seems as if he gets more nervous about watching those around him compete.

In a recent interview, head coach Javier Mendez spoke about how he tries to keep Khabib Nurmagomedov – and his entire team – calm.

Javier Mendez on keeping Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team calm

“I realized that it’s too difficult to chill the whole gang—not just him, all of them. Now, I’m not even trying. All I’m doing is focusing on the fights and making sure I don’t miss anything. So, I’m not trying to chill them anymore. I just let them do what they’ve got to do. That’s who they are.

“I’ve accepted that I really can’t make too many changes, like I would like. But it is what it is, you know? They’re going to go crazy. They’re going to stand up when they’re not supposed to. The commission’s going to tell us, ‘Sit down, sit down,’ and I’m just going to do my thing. I’m going to just focus on the fight, you know? I’m going to let them do their thing, and I’m going to focus on the fight because I’ve had no success in the past, and I don’t see how it’s going to get any better for me.

“Let them, at some point, get better on their own. I’m not going to do it. It’s too much.”