Javier Mendez Credits Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov for Success of Dagestani Fighters

Javier Mendez gives the lion’s share of credit to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, for the success of his Dagestani fighters.

Mendez has formed a close bond with the Dagestani contingent over the course of years since Nurmagomedov first walked into the American Kickboxing Academy in 2012. Nurmagomedov went on to establish his status in MMA GOAT conversations by dominating the UFC’s lightweight division during his title reign before retiring with a perfect record.

Following in Nurmagomedov’s footsteps, his teammates and cousins also came under the tutelage of Mendez, bringing a plethora of talent to AKA. Mendez is now coach to UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev (26-1), Bellator lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0) and UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov (13-0), who made his case for the next gold bid with a unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen last weekend at UFC on ABC 7.

However, Mendez humbly credits Abdulmanap for the formidable brigade of Dagestani talent with which he has been blessed. Widely regarded as the pioneer of MMA in Dagestan, the elder Nurmagomedov is credited for laying down a roadmap for his son and other students to achieve championship glory, which is now known as “father’s plan.” Abdulmanap passed away in July 2020 at the age of 57 due to complications from COVID-19. “The Eagle” retired months later after defending his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, citing a promise he made to his mother to not fight without his father in his corner.

Mendez says it would have been Abdulmanap speaking about the Dagestani stars he coached had he been alive today.

“I believe it’s his father, Abdulmanap. It was ‘father’s plan’ and how he worked his boys from little kids on up,” Mendez told The Schmo. “And had he still been alive, he’d be the one doing all the interviews and talking about his kids — how did he get them to this point. I just happen to be coming in at the tail end of it. I had my parts, don’t get me wrong. But this is basically ‘father’s plan.’ That’s why I always make sure I say ‘father’s plan’ just to respect and honor the great Abdulmanap.”