Javier Mendez is set to have a very busy few hours at UFC 311.
The American Kickboxing Academy [AKA] head trainer and founder will be in the corner alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov when Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight belt against Arman Tsarukyan on Saturday night.
Before that, Javier Mendez hopes to guide Umar Nurmagomedov to a bantamweight title win over current champion Merab Dvalishvili at California’s Intuit Dome.
The revered MMA coach will also be on hand to help flyweight contender Tagir Ulanbekov when he takes on Clayton Carpenter in the first fight of the evening at UFC 311.
Javier Mendez relaxed about hectic UFC 311
Mendez is feeling calm as he edges closer to a massive night at UFC 311.
The 54-year-old is unmoved by the fact he will have to corner three fighters in a few days’ time, including back-to-back bouts for the UFC 311 main and co-main event.
Mendez says Khabib Nurmagomedov gets nervous enough for the both of them before big fights.
“In the past, I’ve tried to calm Khabib down, but it doesn’t work,” he told Submission Radio.
“I’m not gonna try at all. I’m just gonna be me. I’m going to take care of myself and make sure I’m there to give my fighters the advice they need.
“I’ll just stay calm. If Khabib is going to be a ball of nerves everywhere, let him! That’s who he is, so I’m going to leave him alone.”
In terms of the logistics of overseeing consecutive UFC title fights, Mendez is happy to go along with whatever MMA’s premier promotion asks of him.
He added: “Whatever we do, we are going to make it right.
“So, if we need to be there walking out with the fighters, then that’s what we will do. If we need to stay in the corner while Islam comes to us after Umar’s fight’s done, then that’s what we’ll do.
“We’ll handle it. We’ve been in this situation many times. We’ve never been in the situation where it’s a champion fight followed by a champion fight. Never been in that situation with one team, but we’ve been in the situation where it’s co-main event and then main event.”
The only thing that will change in the corner during the three fights Mendez is overseeing will be the addition of an extra body ahead of Makhachev’s fourth title defense.
“It’s the same corner for all three guys, with the exception of one guy who is going to be in the corner with Islam, who has been with him since I remember,” Mendez revealed.
“It’s like his childhood buddy. He’ll be in the corner with him because he’s always in the corner with Islam. He’s been in the corner with Islam more than anybody.”
- READ MORE: Islam Makhachev reveals his true feelings about breaking Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC record
Islam Makhachev names dream opponent
Islam Makhachev has named Tony Ferguson as his dream opponent ahead of UFC 311.
During the peak of his powers, ‘El Cucuy’ was one of the very best lightweight fighters of all time.
Unfortunately, he’s now well past his peak and riding an eight-fight losing streak that stretches back to 2020, so he’ll never get the chance to fight Makhachev after previously missing out on a clash with Khabib.
“In history, honestly not from many years ago, my brother Khabib was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson like five times, they both had injuries, and the fights were canceled,” Makhachev told Adin Ross.
“My dream was to fight this guy at that moment because I was always with Khabib when Khabib had injuries I would ask my manager, ‘Hey, can I step in to fight against Tony?’ and Tony at that moment, he was like a very good athlete, a very good fighter, more than 10 fight win streak in the UFC and that was one of the fights I wanted like 3 or 4 years ago.
“He has an 8-fight losing streak, I wish him the best, a couple of years ago he was one of the high-level fighters from our division.”