Speaking to Submission Radio (as transcribed by MMA Fighting), Mendez said he’s been preparing Khabib for worst case scenario against Gaethje.
“Right now I rank him (Gaethje) second, but he could very well be number one, easily,” Mendez said. “I rank him second behind Conor but I could be wrong on that. He could be more dangerous than Conor. We’ll see. If we’re not able to take him to the ground, we’re gonna have a fight on our hands.
“I’m anticipating we’re gonna have a fight on our hands because if I don’t anticipate that and it does happen, we’re gonna be caught not thinking properly. So I’m assuming we can’t take him down and we have to stand with him. That’s, in my mind, what I’m assuming. I’m hoping that’s not the case. I’m hoping we can take him down but we have to be prepared for times when we can’t.