Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach has told Michael Chandler he mustn't let Conor McGregor's "war of words" get him upset.
UFC legend McGregor is pencilled-in to make his octagon return against former Bellator MMA world champion Chandler, but a date is yet to be announced for the fight. The rivals were expected to fight at UFC 296 on December 16, but with that date edging closer each day it seems likely that McGregor and Chandler will instead meet in the first quarter of next year.
Nurmagomedov's head coach Javier Mendez spent months preparing the Russian for his grudge match against McGregor in 2018 - and his expertise paid off Nurmagonedov went on to choke out his rival. A lot of Mendez's advice to Nurmagomedov was about refusing to be wound up by McGregor's trash talk, something he warned Chandler about ahead of their fight.
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“I'd tell Chandler 'Don't allow Conor's war of words to get you upset' because he's a master at that. That's one thing we prepared for from the very first day that Khabib vs McGregor was announced. I told Khabib every day he's going to come after your family, religion and your country," Mendez told Lordping.
UFC champion demands to know how Conor McGregor has become so "jacked"
"We talked about that for months leading up to the fight and sure enough he did what any scumbag fighter would do. If you're a scumbag fighter you come after those things and you shouldn't. Come after the fighter fine, but using country and religion should never be allowed. This is a competition. It's not life or death, but you're making it life or death by bringing in religion and country. I wish fighters would never do that.”
Mendez admitted he is backing McGregor to beat Chandler because of the American's gung-ho fighting style. "I favour Conor only because Chandler likes to entertain and he’s going to stand more than he should. If Chandler fought the way he could fight I’d go with Chandler but Chandler is such a great entertainer, he’s going to give Conor what he wants, more stand-up than he should.
"Conor is the sharpshooter out of the two. Chandler brings war every time but I don’t think this is the right type of fight for him. He needs to come in Khabib style, that’s the way to go with Conor. Basically shoot, shoot, shoot, punch. Never let him settle. Always let him know you’re going to take him down so he doesn’t settle, so he doesn’t get comfortable on his feet.”
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