When UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov laid his gloves on the canvas after beating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, fans weren’t the only ones shocked.
Nurmagomedov’s longtime coach, American Kickboxing Academy’s Javier Mendez, said he had no idea Nurmagomedov would call it a career this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
“He played the best poker face on the planet,” Mendez told Submission Radio.
Throughout a difficult training camp for the lightweight title unifier, Mendez said the 32-year-old champ never gave an inkling of his plans after the fight.