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Umar Nurmagomedov’s longtime coach shared his first thoughts on the shocking end to the UFC Shanghai main event.

Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov suffered the first stoppage loss of his Mixed Martial Arts career last Saturday at UFC Shanghai. Just minutes into Round 2, Song Yadong caught Nurmagomedov with a punch to the temple to knock the former title challenger out cold.

It was a stunning defeat for Nurmagomedov, as he entered the UFC Shanghai main event as a modest favorite and seemed destined for another bantamweight title shot. But after the knockout, Nurmagomedov could be sidelined for the first of the year as he looks to work his way back into the title mix.

Nurmagomedov’s team, including Umar’s brother Usman, looked visibly stunned by the result at UFC Shanghai. This includes Umar’s longtime coach, who shared a visceral reaction to his star pupil’s loss.

Javier Mendez reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov’s ‘lights out’ KO loss

During a recent interview on Submission Radio, Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez reacted to the shocking end to UFC Shanghai.

“It happened so quickly; to be honest with you when it happened, my mouth just dropped. I’m like, ‘What the hell happened?’ I was in shock myself because I love him so much,” Mendez said of Nurmagomedov.

”You know when you care about somebody and then the loss happens, it hurts even worse. I was saying ‘Oh, I should have been there with him’. No, no. He was in great hands; what happened just was one of those things.

“Song meant to throw that uppercut; Umar did the wrong thing when he went in for the takedown and moved his head off center,” Mendez continued on Nurmagomedov. “He just caught him in that equilibrium right back here [the temple], and you get caught there? It’s instant lights out.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

Nurmagomedov suffered his first-career loss to former bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 last year. He won back-to-back fights over Deiveson Figueiredo and Mario Bautista before UFC Shanghai.

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