Morning Report: Javier Mendez thinks Conor McGregor is still the most dangerous threat for Khabib Nurmagomedov

MMAfighting.com

At UFC 226, Khabib Nurmagomedov solidified his hold on the lightweight title, submitting former champion Conor McGregor with a fourth-round neck crank. It had been a dominant performance from Nurmagomedov before then, with Khabib controlling McGregor on the ground for long stretches and even dropping the renowned boxer with an overhand right. But despite the dominant performance from Nurmagomedov, his head coach still believes McGregor poses the greatest threat to Khabib’s title reign.

Speaking with SportsDaily.ru recently, Javier Mendez discussed some of the potential future opponents for Khabib, ranking them by level of danger, and atop the list was none other than Conor McGregor.

“Talking about four potential rivals for Khabib I can give my assessment from the [least] dangerous to the most dangerous,” Mendez said. (h/t MMA News). “Max Holloway [would] be the easiest for Khabib. Max has good boxing but it lacks the power to the lightweight division. Next on the list is Dustin Poirier. He’s got stamina and versatility. Tony Ferguson is my second choice. His elbows are very dangerous. And finally [the] number one contender for me is still Conor. His boxing is special, that’s his chance.”

It’s easy to see why Mendez would be so confident in his charge. Nurmagomedov has been on a tear through the lightweight division, amassing a 27-0 record and looking unbeatable for most of his bouts. It does pay short shrift to Nurmagomedov’s next opponent though.

Next up for Nurmagomedov is a lightweight title unification bout against Dustin Poirier, who won an interim title with a unanimous decision over Max Holloway at UFC 236. That bout is rumored to be in the works for UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi where the UFC recently announced a five-year partnership. After that though, Khabib’s schedule is open and McGregor could get plugged back into a title shot. After all, they certainly don’t lack the background to build up the rematch.