Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Trainer Javier Mendez: Shem Rock Reminds Me Of Kimbo Slice

Legendary MMA Coach Javier Mendez – who trained the likes of UFC Champions Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier has shown great interest in Europe’s biggest MMA promotion OKTAGON – especially in Liverpudlian fighter Shem Rock.

On November 4 at Manchester’s AO Arena, OKTAGON MMA will stage a bout between former inmate Shem Rock and Czech MMA veteran and police officer Jaroslav Pokorny. 

Top coach Mendez believes the fight dubbed “the police vs. the streets” will create great interest among fight fans. 

Speaking to OKTAGON MMA, Mendez said:

• This fight reminds me of Kimbo Slice’s first loss against a police officer
• Shem Rock can channel the negativity of his past and become great and victorious 
• ”The Police vs Streets” narrative is great – it brings eyes to the sports

This fight reminds me of Kimbo Slice’s first loss against a police officer – Narratives are great for the sport

“They’re bringing attention to the sport and they’re doing it in a positive way,” 

“It’s definitely unique, it reminds of when Kimbo Slice took his first loss, it was against a police officer in bare knuckle boxing and there was great tension and it brought a lot of attention.”

“It is important to have narratives going into a fight and they can send the message that if you screw up your life, you can always straighten yourself out from being in a bad situation to being in a good situation. And that’s what these two guys are doing.

“It’s definitely of interest. You’ve got one side against the other, but it’s legal. They are both within the law, so there’s nothing wrong with that at all, it causes great interest.

Shem Rock can channel the negativity of his past and become great and victorious 

“If he [Rock] has a lot of emotions going into it, he needs to not ignore them, he needs to open them up and explore them and see how those emotions can help him. 

“Look at it this way, people find strength in things – the mother can save her child because the protection of her child allows her to perform incredible strength -the same thing with this. If Rock has so much hatred he can channel his past into a positive and he can fight better. Turn the negative to a positive.” 

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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.