The old saying, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” doesn’t really bother coach Javier Mendez since the fighters he usually trains often come with both. It’s also why he believes the country of Dagestan will continue to shell out assembly lines of world beaters. Khabib, Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Magomed Ankalaev… Mendez believes there’s more to come.
For years now, fighters from the region—led by Khabib Nurmagomedov and now Islam Makhachev—have dominated the sport, courtesy of a system of discipline embedded in them through the historical and cultural landscape of Dagestan.
And it’s not just this particular camp. Dagestan, a republic smaller than the size of West Virginia, has managed to win 7 Olympic gold medals over the years. And now that this mountainous region has shifted its focus to MMA, it doesn’t look like there is much to stop them.
Earlier this week at UFC 313, Ankalaev became the first Dagestani light heavyweight champion of the world.
While discussing the card yesterday, Mendez claimed that he would not be the last either. “I don’t think there is any other section, other than Dagestan that has more champions right now.”, he said.
Explaining his reasons for believing so, Mendez added, “I can see this continuing, because of the way they train over there, how disciplined they are, they have their system down. They know what to do, they know how to train, they know where to train. They have everything they need.”
Mendez isn’t the first person to say so, either. Everybody in the MMA community has seen the hilarious video of Islam asking DC to send his kids to Dagesan for 2-3 years and forget. But did you know Cormier had actually sent a youth team to these mountains some time ago.
Speaking about the experience on the Joe Rogan podcast in 2023, DC elaborated on what the students told him after their return to the States.
“Bro, I took those kids when they were in seventh and eighth grade, and I sent them to Dagestan for a month. They took all of their schoolwork and they went to Dagestan and Moscow for a month.“, he continued.
Khabib, of course, helped him out with the accommodations and took care of everything the kids and the accompanying parents needed. He also took a personal interest in training them.
The kids would then tell DC: “Coach, we practice with you. In Dagestan, it’s training. It’s in the morning, it’s in the mid-day, it’s in the evening. You’re training all day. “
They would go on to inform DC that they would do 30 minutes of just gymnastics before practice for flexibility and body discipline, body control, and everything in between. “They are operating at a different level, man“, DC concluded, sounding impressed.
This, for teenage kids at Khabib’s academy, is an everyday routine. And it doesn’t stop there, either.
Mendez experiences how good Dagestani kids are at wrestling
Mendez often talks about his travels to Dagestan, and it was during one of these tours that he realized that training in Dagestan isn’t just something they do—it’s a way of life.
One story that stuck with him was when he was with Islam. Islam told him about a casual day out with friends, where they went on a picnic, rode horses, and cooked together. But even during a relaxed outing, training wasn’t far from their minds.
While the food was being prepared, the kids started wrestling each other—completely on their own. “They are out there wrestling. They are putting their kids together, and they wrestle with each other. They are just going at it, and I am amazed how good they were,” Mendez recalled.
Once they were done, the kids shook hands and went right back to enjoying the day.
This is the Dagestani way—competition and discipline aren’t confined to the gym or fight camps. It’s this mentality that has made Dagestani fighters some of the most dominant athletes in mixed martial arts today.
