Javier Mendez discloses how he used UFC 311 result to motivate Usman Nurmagomedov for title fight against Paul Hughes: "Do it for your brother"

Javier Mendez recently disclosed how he used a bout result from UFC 311 to motivate Usman Nurmagomedov for his title fight against Paul Hughes last weekend. The Dagestani defended his Bellator lightweight championship in the main event of PFL Champions Series: Dubai in what ended up being an entertaining back-and-forth fight.

Usman successfully retained his championship after earning a majority decision over 'Big News' and capped off an eventful month for his team. The week prior at UFC 311, teammate Islam Makhachev submitted Renato Moicano to set a new promotional record for most consecutive lightweight title defenses. However, Usman's brother, Umar came up short in his bantamweight title fight as he lost a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili.

During the latest episode of his Javier Mendez Podcast, the AKA coach opened up about Usman's lightweight title defense and how he motivated his pupil to bring out his best effort. Mendez highlighted the importance of motivating his fighters with a positive approach and mentioned that he encouraged Usman to use Umar's defeat as extra motivation:

"I go, 'This is for you and your brother...This is what you wanted'. So, you gotta find something positive that's gonna push him, not something that they're gonna fear. Motivation is based on not fear, it's based on love. And his love for his brother [Umar] is super high that I knew saying his brother and, 'Do it for your brother'. He wanted to win the fight for himself...but he made that comment...I listened to his interviews." [26:07]

Check out the full episode featuring Javier Mendez's comments about Usman Nurmagomedov below:

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Javier Mendez warns Usman Nurmagomedov after underestimating Paul Hughes

In addition to disclosing how he motivated his pupil, Javier Mendez warned Usman Nurmagomedov after he underestimated his opponent Paul Hughes.

During the aforementioned episode, Mendez mentioned that it was important for the Dagestani to not lose focus because he had dismissed Hughes prior to their bout:

"I listened to what Usman said and [he] was saying, 'He's not my level. He's not my level'...My talk in the back was when people you think aren't your level, they turn out to be your level because you underestimated them and you can't do that. [Hughes] is coming. He feels he's not going to lose and he's going to be very tough to beat." [26:48]

Check out Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes highlights below: