Famed MMA coach Javier Mendez offered his response to Bobby Green’s continued accusations that Russian fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev regularly duck USADA testing protocols.
Before scoring a stunning 33-second knockout of Grant Dawson in the UFC Vegas 80 main event, Green doubled down on his claim that some of the promotion’s most prominent Russian fighters are skirting the rules when it comes to being tested for banned substances. It’s far from the first time ‘King’ has made such a statement, but this time, the soon-to-be-ranked lightweight is getting some pushback from Khabib Nurmagomedov and his longtime coach, Javier Mendez.
Bobby Green accuses Khabib and Islam of taking PEDs pic.twitter.com/YzAruwCYgf
— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) October 8, 2023
Discussing Green’s comments on his podcast, Mendez shared some insight into USADA’s testing and suggested that Green should restrain himself from discussing something he doesn’t appear to know anything about.
“If you’re at the mosque, do you think USADA is going to go to the mosque and knock, knock, knock, we’re gonna test you? No. They go to your home,” Mendez said. “You have to sign a paper that tells your whereabouts. Where you’re going to be wherever you’re at. You have to do it. It’s mandatory. If you don’t do the whereabouts, it’s a big X against you. You do another one, then you’re completely out.
“So why is this guy talking about something he knows nothing about how the procedures work with USADA. Saying, ‘Oh, you can’t enter the mosque.’ What are you talking about? USADA has your number. They call you, ‘Hey, we’re here to test you. Where you at?'”
Javier Mendez Believes Bobby Green May Still Be Salty Over the Beating Makhachev Put on Him in February 2022
Responding to Green’s comments on Instagram, Nurmagomedov pointed out that both he and Islam Makhachev have been tested by USADA upwards of 50 times during their respective careers. Mendez echoed similar sentiments, saying:
“Who in their right mind from USADA is going to go to a mosque to these guys when they’re going there to pray? Who? What idiot is going to do that? Get them at their home,” he continued. “They got their home address. They got the gym address. Get them where they’re training. It’s like I’m on vacation at Disneyland and you show up in Disneyland like, ‘Hey, we’re here to draw blood.’ Wait till I go home. Get me at home. That’s what I’m saying.
“The things he’s saying make zero sense to anybody that knows how USADA works and talking about ‘They’re all this and they’re all that.’ So what you’re saying is, the 50+ times Khabib has been tested, and Islam, they know how to cheat. Are you f’ing kidding me? They’re the only one that know how to cheat? The guy’s smoking crack. I’m sorry. He’s smoking crack.”
Mendez also suggested that Bobby Green may still be a bit salty following his lopsided first-round knockout loss to Makhachev in February 2022.
“Islam took care of him fairly easy and he’s a world-class opponent so being taken care of the way he was didn’t sit well with him because he was probably expecting he was going to do better and he didn’t,” Mendez added.
Watch the full interview below:
