Former coach of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Javier Mendez, knows a future champion when he sees one.
AKA head coach Javier Mendez knows a thing or two about taking elite grapplers and coaching them to becoming world champions in the UFC.
With some of the best grapplers we’ve ever seen in the Octagon walk through his doors, Mendez has cornered the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and Islam Makhachev in the biggest fights of their careers.
After watching UFC 290, he was left very impressed by the man who opened the main card, undefeated prospect Bo Nickal.
As one of the most talked about future stars in the sport, wrestling standout Nickal has secured two consecutive wins in the UFC to take his pro record to 5-0.
On his podcast, Mendez spoke about Nickal’s performance and how he expects him to live up to the hype.
“I seen his knockout and I am going to go on record to predict that is the future UFC middleweight champion. He had it all, he’s got great ability, great wrestling, he’s got great IQ, the way he did that, he came in, he hit him, he faded out, hit him again, hit him with pinpoint shots, I mean, he’s the real deal. He is the future, that right there, solidified, I knew he was great but now I know he’s the future, the future champ.”
Javier Mendez Was Impressed By One Particular Aspect Of Bo Nickal’s Performance
Whilst he was taken aback by Nickal’s potential that he showed in finishing late notice opponent Valentine Woodburn in the first round this past weekend, Javier Mendez highlighted one aspect of his game that had everyone out of their seats.
Though it has been well documented at this point how incredibly high level Nickal’s wrestling is, making him a huge favourite against his opponent, it was his hands that did the talking on Saturday night.
Not only did he put Woodburn away in less than a minute, Mendez was impressed by how clean his striking looked as opposed to catching his opponent with a big looping overhand shot.
“No, way more evolved than that and he proved he didn’t need to wrestle he can beat you standing up.”
