- Coach Javier Mendez addressed the rumors about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC return
- Mendez thinks people have used AI to produce “clickbaits”
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez revealed the truth about his rumored return at UFC 300.
It’s just clickbait
Speaking on his podcast, Mendez lifted the lid on the massive rumor swirling around the MMA world stating Nurmagomedov is making a UFC comeback. According to Mendez, the source of the news was from years ago and everything people read on the internet was pure “clickbait.”
“I’m like, ‘Where the hell is this coming from?’ ‘From me?!’ when did I speak to somebody?’… This is from years ago, this is from before Khabib officially retired. Me talking about, ‘Well, I am training with him, blah, blah, blah, this and that, this and that.’ So these guys are getting this clickbait and they’re making news out of something that shouldn’t be news, like, what the hell? Leave Khabib alone, you know? It’s like ‘Hey, he’s retired, he’s been retired,'” Mendez began.
“He never said he wanted to come back, he never talked to me about anything since he made his announcement over two years ago,” he continued. “People need to stop, it’s like- he’s moved on with his life, he’s done what he said he was gonna do, he says he was gonna be focusing on the fighters when they’re around, when he’s there. He never said he would work corners anymore, forever. But he has, as of yet, still not wanting to work corners. He spends time with his family and he does business. and he does train the guys but… once he said he’s retired, when he got off the USADA testing pool which was what I don’t know a couple years ago, he has not ever said anything about remotely coming back whatsoever.”
AI is responsible for the fake news
Mendez went on and blame AI or artificial intelligence for the spread of fake content on the internet.
“A lot of these people, they’re starting to use AI. They’re using AI and they’re making things of something I didn’t say or Khabib didn’t say and now it’s getting so good with AI you don’t even know what’s real and what’s not most of the time now,” Mendez said.
“A lot of these people are fake news and like I said before, if there’s any fights to be announced legit especially with the UFC, even if I say it, it means nothing until the UFC announces it then it’s something,” he added.
Khabib or any Team Khabib fighters are not participating at UFC 300
To conclude his statement, Mendez pointed out that due to Ramadan, Nurmagomedov or any fighter from Team Khabib will stay be in Dubai which means nobody from their gym is fighting at UFC 300 in April.
“I can tell you this right at the present time, I’m not scheduled to come back till after Ramadan.” “… Unless for some miracle reason, I’m going back tomorrow but at the present time I’m not going back. That tells you something… None of my guys are fighting anytime within with between now and that time period when I’m here in Dubai,” Mendez concluded.
Nurmagomedov has been officially retired since 2021. He left the sport with an unbeaten pro MMA record of 29-0 and three successful title defenses as the UFC lightweight champion.
Check out Mendez’s full podcast below:
