“My mouth just dropped”: Javier Mendez admits shock after Song Yadong’s stunning Umar Nurmagomedov KO

Umar Nurmagomedov fought Song Yadong at the Oriental Sports Center as the headliner of UFC Shanghai. The fight went terribly wrong for Umar as Yadong's uppercut in the second round put him unconscious, and he suffered a devastating knockout loss. This defeat left everyone stunned as the Dagestani was the heavy favorite entering the bout. 

One person who was particularly shocked by the result was Javier Mendez. The renowned coach was unable to be in Umar’s corner for the bout against Yadong, but he watched the fight and admitted that the knockout left him struggling to process what had happened.

Javier Mendez reveals his stunned reaction after Song Yadong brutally knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov

In his recent appearance on Submission Radio, Mendez revealed his immediate reaction when Yadong landed the fight-ending strike. The coach, who shares a close relationship with Umar, said he was completely stunned by the unexpected result.

"When it happened, my mouth just dropped," Mendez told Submission Radio. "I'm like, ‘What the hell happened?' And I was in shock myself because I love him so much.”

Mendez believes the knockout was the result of a split-second mistake from Umar and also pointed to the location of the impact as a major factor in the devastating finish. He explained that a clean shot in that area can immediately disrupt a fighter's balance and consciousness.

“What happened was just 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, and it just caught him in the right spot in the equilibrium right back here. You get caught in the spot right there, it's instant lights out," Mendez said. 

Check out Javier Mendez's comments below:

This knockout loss is a huge setback for Umar's career, as he was on track to get another title shot, and this defeat has put him well back from the title mix. 

The Young Eagle was riding on a two-fight win streak, and a win over Yadong would have put him in a position where he could have asked for the winner of the Petr Yan vs Merab Dvalishvili trilogy happening at UFC 333 for Yan's belt. 

That said, Umar's immediate reactions after the loss were positive on social media, and he has vowed to correct the mistake and come back strong; only time will tell if he will bounce back from his career-first finish loss.