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Khabib’s Coach Admits Lying to Novak Djokovic While Mentioning His Achievements With UFC Champions Like Islam Makhachev and Others- “Tried to Impress Him”

Published 12/22/2023, 8:18 AM EST

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UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov recently caught up with Tennis legend Novak Djokovic. There, he had his former coach Javier Mendez with him, who also interacted with the Serbian ace. The AKA head coach seemingly listed the number of fighters he trained to become UFC champions, to which he admitted to lying a little bit.

The American Kickboxing Academy is home to a lot of UFC champions. Some of the notable champions are Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, Islam Makhachev, and of course, Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, Javier Mendez went the extra mile while mentioning the list of champions he’s trained.

Javier Mendez admits to lying in front of Novak Djokovic

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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former coach posted a video of him in a conversation with Novak Djokovic, where he claimed to have trained about 20 UFC fighters. However, that wasn’t the case, as Javier Mendez admitted to lying. He said, “Here I’m discussing how many [UFC] champions I have trained with my [‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov] and I actually lied.”

 

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A post shared by Javier Mendez (@akajav)

Javier Mendez claimed that he had to lie in front of Novak Djokovic because he was listening to him very sincerely. This is why he tried to impress the Serbian ace with his list of achievements. “I didn’t train 20 [UFC] champions and here [Novak Djokovic] was listening to me and that is why I tried to impress him. Coach is fibbing,” Mendez added. While this may have been the first time the AKA coach met the tennis legend, it wasn’t the first for Khabib Nurmagomedov. Moreover, ‘The Eagle’ once extended his support to Djokovic when he was facing a tough time in his career.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov extended his support to Djokovic during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 was a tough year for many people. Businesses shut down and people were forced to stay at home due to the virus claiming the lives of millions of people. For Novak Djokovic, he had to deal with a difficult situation. He failed to meet the pandemic requirements which resulted in him failing to get a visa to get to Australia for the Australian Open.

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However, Khabib Nurmagomedov, like many others, extended his support to the Serbian ace. He posted a video of Djokovic playing in his Instagram story, tagging the 24-time Grand Slam champion and urging him to keep his chin up. This certainly showed how much Nurmagomedov cared for and respected athletes from other sporting backgrounds.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t just have good relations with fighters from the MMA community, but also athletes from other sporting backgrounds. He has always been a fan of soccer and tennis, which led him to get acquainted with Cristiano Ronaldo and Novak Djokovic. We will have to wait and see how many more sporting personalities Khabib forms budding relationships with.

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Written by:

Himanga Mahanta

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I am a UFC writer at EssentiallySports, and my passion for MMA and a deep understanding of its intricacies have allowed me to churn out more than 1000 articles. I have covered numerous UFC events and fighters, with the aim of bringing my readers closer to the action and the athletes they admire. I have developed a knack for providing analytical coverage of breaking stories from the world of MMA.
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Edited by:

Anuj Jacob