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Since weight-cut-related complications kept Khabib Nurmagomedov out of a third attempted booking with Tony Ferguson, the current interim champ has repeatedly employed jokes aimed to poke fun at his would-be opponent’s weight.

The star of the jokes is habitually tiramisu, in a reference to pre-fight footage that showed Nurmagomedov with his friends in a restaurant, where he ordered three servings of tiramisu. It is not clear, by the footage, whether Nurmagomedov actually ate it.

Ferguson (24-3 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is not the one fighting him next, but he’s so committed to the gimmick that he launched a poll doubting that Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will make weight for his UFC 219 meeting with Edson Barboza (19-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). He even appointed himself CEO of #TeamTiramisu.

In fairness, while not everyone is as vocal or savvy about it, Ferguson is not the only one wondering about Nurmagomedov’s weight. Although his unblemished record and utter dominance speak for themselves, his notoriously tough cuts have made weight-related questions so common that Nurmagomedov has become a pro in sagely deflecting them.

While Nurmagomedov, at least, appears unfazed by these talks, one of his trainers seems a bit tired of the whole conversation. That’s American Kickboxing Academy’s Javier Mendez.

“The last time, people were making too much of his weight cut, talking about, ‘It was disastrous, he wasn’t going to make weight,’” Mendez told Submission Radio. “Just because his opponent says he wasn’t going to make weight and he made fun of it.

“He was on schedule to make weight; his body just failed him. It’s like, how many times do you see a fighter get ready for a fight, and all of a sudden, kidney stones or something happens to him?”

Nurmagomedov was set to meet Ferguson in March, at UFC 209, for the UFC’s interim lightweight title. The day before weigh-ins, however, the Dagestani fighter had to be hospitalized due to kidney issues. Earlier that day, during a face-off, Ferguson had told Nurmagomedov to “have fun with that weight cut, sucking air.”

Mendez won’t deny the correlation between Nurmagomedov’s health issues and the weight but maintains that there was nothing abnormal about the cut up until that point.

“It does have a lot to do with losing weight that causes these problems, but it wasn’t that he wasn’t going make weight,” Mendez said. “He was going to make weight. He wasn’t over anything. He was just like where he normally is. Just the thing is with Khabib is, he doesn’t like to say anything about it. And he still won’t say anything about it. So, you know.

“And then there’s that tiramisu bull(expletive). You know, he didn’t eat that stuff. He never ate that stuff. He’s with a bunch of fighters that aren’t in camp and not fighting. So they’re not allowed to eat because he’s not allowed to eat? It’s stupid, you know? Too much has been made up of something that wasn’t even there.”

Speaking about the weight, himself, Nurmagomedov would only say he was eight days ahead of schedule in his cut. Mendez, in turn, is also quite confident with how things are shaping up for the meeting with Barboza at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 30.

“He’s ready,” Mendez said. “He came in camp lighter than he ever has. He’s lighter now than he ever has. His nutrition, he started almost 50 days out. Everything is better. His striking’s better. His grappling’s better. I’m anxious to watch him perform and see if he can put it all together against a very dangerous opponent.”

To hear the full interview with Mendez, check out the clip below.

And for more on UFC 219, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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