Javier Mendez opens up on Umar Nurmagomedov not telling him about broken hand during UFC 311 fight: "I’m like, what the hell?!”

Umar Nurmagomedov was defeated for the first time in his career when he faced Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event of UFC 311 for the bantamweight title. Having barely lost a round in his career, let alone a fight, Nurmagomedov entered the title fight as a betting favorite over the champion.

But the 'Young Eagle' did not dominate the striking exchanges as he was expected to and was far more physically fatigued than previously seen as the fight entered the championship rounds.

Dvalishvili, on the other hand, only grew in strength as the fight progressed. He poured on the pressure in the final three rounds of the bout to win via unanimous decision.

Following the bout, Nurmagomedov's manager released images of his hand, stating that the 29-year old had broken it in round one of the fight. Coach Javier Mendez then revealed that the Dagestani did not tell him about the injury while cornering him at UFC 311.

Mendez told Submission Radio:

"We would have changed the gameplan, but we didn't know. Umar didn't tell us [about his broken hand]... No, we would have changed the plan had he told us that! Why would we do what we had him do, throw that broken hand, if we knew he'd broken his hand? That'd be stupid!"

He added:

"I would have had him kick more, keep the distance... But no, the gameplan was to stay inside and pick him apart... He kept putting his head down more than often and I'm like, what the hell?!"

Catch Javier Mendez discussing Umar Nurmagomedov below (16:12):

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Merab Dvalishvili's coach issues response to Umar Nurmagomedov's broken hand claim

Merab Dvalishvili's coach, John Wood, has scoffed at the notion that Umar Nurmagomedov's broken hand was the underlying reason for his defeat to 'The Machine'.

Dvalishvili was on top form against 'Young Eagle', who did not appear at his best. Following reports that the title challenger had suffered a broken hand, Wood told Sportskeeda MMA:

"That's MMA, like I said, people are going to find whatever. Guess what? Don't break your hand next time maybe, don't throw the punch so hard or don't throw it so shi**y, I don't know like wrap your hands better. Whatever it is, that's part of fighting."

Catch Merab Dvalishvili's coach discussing Umar Nurmagomedov below (5:00):