401 lbs Shaquille O’Neal, ‘Fearing Death’ Went to train at the UFC Performance Institute

When Shaquille O’Neal tells you the secret to his 3 championships, you pay attention and listen. Except of course, if that advice also requires getting physical with him. Yes, as odd as that sounds, Shaq’s big secret involves a lot of physical movement.

We know that athletes often go to great lengths to achieve success. And O’Neal was no different. He was one of the most dominant big men ever and he did everything in his power to rip through the NBA. And to a certain extent, he did. But when the going go tough, he had to turn to another sport to seek inspiration and prepare for the challenge.

In his segment Shaq Life, he talked about how he needed to get back into shape, and to that end, he wanted to go back to his roots and restart MMA. Yes, MMA.

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Shaquille O’Neal trained at the UFC Performance Institute

In the video, Shaq heads to Las Vegas and the mecca for MMA training, for rookies at least; the UFC Performance Institute. And here he is greeted by a UFC legend, Francis Ngannou.

The two talk about a few things before Francis jokingly lifts him up and then O’Neal goes on to say “it’s the first time he’s ever been picked up!”. The Big Diesel then put his gear on and goes to work. Here he recounts how MMA helped him find an edge. After failing to win with the Magic and with a quick trade to the Lakers, Shaq was frustrated. He turned to mixed martial arts.

After he put on weight during the pandemic, he decided it was time to turn back to the sport. And it was a good way for him to get his conditioning back and lose the “dad bod”.

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Shaquille talks about why MMA matters to him

The 7-footer talked about how when post-up moves didn’t work, he needed to find a new way to get stronger and figure his own physique out. Enter MMA.

A sport that helps improve your conditioning while making you stronger. O’Neal said, “MMA Training is the reason I have 3 championships in a row”. If he is telling us the importance of this sport, it must have worked.

Shaq then goes on to talk about how serious he is about weight loss and getting back in shape. Since this video from nearly 2 years ago, he has slimmed down. And more than that, he has put on a lot of muscle. He weighed a whopping 401 pounds in 2020 and now weighs less than 350lbs!

Apart from that O’Neal suffered from sleep apnea, and as a result, had to pick up MMA to help him combat the problem. Doctors also feared his issue could also lead to his untimely death. And Shaq feared it, a lot.

“I had to really get checked out. When they hit you with that three-letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes stuff up.”, O’Neal said. He also changed up his diet and the inclusion of MMA in his routine is his bid to live a long and healthy life.

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