Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t train in US for fight vs. Justin Gaethje

Reigning UFC lightweight world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will not train in the United States in preparation for his fight against UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.

The unification fight between the two best lightweights in the world is scheduled to headline UFC 254 on October 24 in a yet to be determined venue.

In a conversation with ESPN, Nurmagomedov’s longtime coach Javier Mendez of the American Kickboxing Academy of San Jose, California, said his ward is not comfortable with training in the USA given a large amount of COVID-19 cases in the state.

“We've got two choices, right? Las Vegas or Fight Island. I'm thinking Fight Island, but they haven't said it yet. What I do know is that [COVID-19] is too high in California, and Khabib is not comfortable coming here to train,” said Mendez.

The past month proved to be a handful for the champion as his father, Abdulmanap, passed away from complications brought upon by COVID-19.

To this day, the unbeaten world champion from Dagestan is still mourning the loss of his father according to Mendez.

“I did speak to him for the first time two weeks ago, and he's still going through missing his father,” the respected coach shared.

“Rightfully so. The way they were connected, his father was pretty much his everything. Having his father's blessing gave him that power to go out and do what he needed to do.”

But no mistake about it, Mendez guarantees that his fighter is laser-focused in successfully defending his gold-plated strap.

“Everything his father wanted him to do, Khabib would go out and accomplish it,” he said. “Now, he doesn't have that. So, he's gotta focus on the legacy his father wanted for him.” —KG, GMA News