Javier Mendez has had some of the best fighters in the history of MMA walk through his doors at AKA and has had a front row seat to some of the all-time greats at work. In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, one of the most successful coaches in the game was asked to pick who, of all the great champions he’s worked with, takes the top spot.
Mendez has got a lot of options to pick from his earlier champions like Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold and Daniel Cormier to more recent examples. Many would assume that Khabib Nurmagomedov or his lightweight heir, the current pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, would also be in the conversation.
However, Mendez subverted expectations by naming the cousin of “The Eagle” who is the reigning Bellator lightweight champion. At 18-0 with one no contest, Usman Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters that isn’t currently signed to the UFC.
His recent comments suggested that he hopes to move across to the Octagon once his teammate, Makhachev, has finished his run at the 155-pound champion so that he can take over in his absence which would be one of the UFC’s biggest signings in some time. Mendez said that whilst Nurmagomedov may not have the same list of accomplishments as the other fighters in the gym, he’s the most talented and is still improving as 26-years old.
I see Usman [Nurmagomedov] as being pound-for-pound the greatest fighter myself, he’s got all the attributes. He’s the most talented I’ve ever trained… If at one point he never goes [to the UFC], great. He’s still gonna be regarded as one of the great ones… what he does in that cage is like nobody. I’ve never seen anybody do the transitions, the movement that he does. He’s unbelievable and he’s only 26, he’s only getting better.
