MMA News Today: Khabib Nurmagomedov's Coach Breaks Down Belal Muhammad's Path To Victory Against Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev's Manager Shares Worrying Information After Fight Cancellation, & More

Welcome to MMA News Today , a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For June 14, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

• Mendez says Muhammad needs to make it dirty
• Chimaev's manager explains decision to withdraw
• Rockhold suggests Makhachev improvement

Javier Mendez Says Key For Belal Muhammad At UFC 304 Is To Not Engage Leon Edwards In Technical Contest

Belal Muhammad has been working alongside the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev for his upcoming title fight.

At UFC 304, he will finally challenge for the welterweight belt in a rematch with Leon Edwards in Manchester.

In a recent interview with The Schmo, the long-time coach of Makhachev and Nurmagomedov, Javier Mendez, gave his thoughts on the main event for July 27.

The AKA coach believes that making this fight into a battle of wills rather than technical skill is crucial for Muhammad if he wants to leave England with the welterweight title.

"It's going to be a tough fight. It's going to be one of those ones where Belal's got to dig deep, he's gonna have to dig deep. He has to dig deep, he has to stay focused, he has to stay on task and he has to make this fight a very dirty fight because if not, if it's a technical thing, Leon's too far ahead. There's no way that I see him doing great on the outside. He's got to be in the inside making a gritty, wrestling type fight."

Khamzat Chimaev's Manager Details Health Concerns Following Fight Cancellation

Khamzat Chimaev has had a whole host of issues outside the Octagon that have prevented him from staying active as of late.

His latest setback was announced yesterday as he was forced to withdraw from his Saudi Arabia main event against Robert Whittaker just over a week out.

An Instagram post from the manager of Chimaev's home base at Allstars, Majdi Shammas, went into more detail about why "Borz" would not be fighting.

The middleweight contender has had some serious health concerns over the past few years and this appears to be yet another instalment in this saga.

As well as stating how disappointed Chimaev is and that he will be back stronger from this adversity, Shammas explained the reasoning behind the cancellation.

"The persistent illness that Khamzat has been battling for major parts of training camp could not be cured in time. He has been in and out of hospitals several times. The condition has been kept within the team, since everyone has been absolutely committed to finding a solution. Although all available options have been thoroughly considered, it has now come to a point where the team has mutually agreed that it is not possible to carry on like this."

Luke Rockhold Points Out Where Islam Makhachev Could Have Improved Upon His UFC 302 Performance

During a recent episode of the Jaxxon Podcast , Luke Rockhold gave his thoughts on the recent main event of UFC 302.

Rockhold used to train alongside the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev during his time as a key member at the American Kickboxing Academy.

He said that Makhachev could have improved in one specific area that they used to work on during his time at AKA.

After taking Dustin Poirier's back in the fight, the lightweight king was unable to find the rear-naked choke submission .

Rockhold believes that he wasted time and should have instead looked to switch positions in order to make better use of his dominance.

"I used to work on this a lot with Islam and Khabib and the guys, you can't waste time on a guy's back. People waste so much time of dominant position on a guy's back because everyone knows how to defend the neck from that position. You have to, one of the most important positions is rotating from back to mount... You gotta rotate, you can't get stale on the back man."

Read more on the story here .

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