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UFC 300: Khabib Nurmagomedov's Coach Clears Air on Possible Blockbuster Return

American Kickboxing Academy's Javier Mendez shot down the idea of the former lightweight champion's return to the UFC.

Zain Bando

UFC 300: Khabib Nurmagomedov's Coach Clears Air on Possible Blockbuster Return
UFC 300: Khabib Nurmagomedov's Coach Clears Air on Possible Blockbuster Return /

With UFC 300 exactly three months away, MMA fans still eagerly anticipate the promotion's plan for a blockbuster headliner.

With champions Sean O'Malley, Alexander Volkanovski, and Sean Strickland headling their respective cards, the UFC has few suitable options to create a main event with star power potential.

One of those possibilities that won't come to fruition is a long-awaited return from former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired in Jan. 2021 after putting together a 29-0 (13-0 UFC) run.

In a tweet posted by MMA journalist Helen Yee, Nurmagomedov's former coach, Javier Mendez, clarified Nurmagomedov's recent training videos and his purpose for visiting him.

UFC 300: Champ Reveals Title Fight on the Books for Major Event

"I'm just letting you guys know that, you know, stop all this nonsense [on the internet] regarding Khabib [coming back to the UFC] and me and him training," Mendez said. "There's been no such thing happening. We're not discussing training. We never have. Khabib is still devoted to what he said [about not fighting again]. He's devoted his time to his family. He's not working people's corners. He's not gonna ever fight. To my knowledge, it has never been spoken about."

Mendez revealed he and Nurmagomedov were getting cardio work in, and that was the extent of it.

UFC 300: Who's Fighting & Who's Sitting This One Out?

With Nurmagomedov now out of the picture, it remains to be seen what the UFC decides to do. Its 300th pay-per-view comes nearly eight years after UFC 200, headlined by Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title and featured Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier, and Anderson Silva.

The event takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., as its final lineup is starting to come together.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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