Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the most established MMA athletes of all time. His stint as the UFC lightweight fighter and subsequently his title defenses are a blueprint for fighters to come. He came from the rugged mountainous terrains of Dagestan and took the entire MMA community by storm. During a podcast, a former UFC fighter recalled a tale of inhumane training which Khabib Nurmagomedov would undergo, a training which made five fighters give up due to exhaustion. The ex-UFC fighter was not giving credit to the fighting style of the Dagestani called ‘Sambo’.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is famous for defeating Conor McGregor and maintaining his undefeated status throughout his career. He is one of the few UFC fighters who can claim that they retired without tasting defeat in their career.
However, a lot of hard work went behind his success. The Eagle’s father was one of the major influences on him. He made sure that the former UFC lightweight champion trained hard in order to achieve success inside the octagon. This training regimen is often praised as did the former UFC fighter during the podcast.
Khabib Nurmagomedov made five guys give up tirelessly during training
Former UFC light heavyweight fighter Chael Sonnen was quite famous during his UFC career. What’s more, he is still making headlines with his astute analysis of the fights and fighters. Once he spoke about how the Dagestani’s training regimen shocked him to his core. He revealed how the workout was for 90 mins and those 90 mins would be shared by 5 fighters against Nurmagomedov who would keep on sparring without a break.
Sonnen said, “The first guy was the most talented guy, made it 20. 20 mins in the ring and the guy goes, ‘I’m done, I have nothing left to offer you’. Great, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] stays in, a new guy comes in. Guy number 2 comes in for 15 mins or so. Guy number 3 comes in for 15 mins or so. The guy number 4. Even though when it was done, Khabib was standing up and all 5 guys were laying down, just from exhaustion. He [Nurmagomedov] didn’t hurt him. It was grappling wok. He didn’t hurt these guys, he just put a pace on them.”
The shocking thing is that Khabib did not hurt the fighters in order for them to not be able to fight anymore. The inhumane cardio of Khabib was staggering, which was more than 5 professional fighters combined. However, despite the praise by Sonne, he once ridiculed Sambo and claimed that it was not real MMA discipline.
Sonnen against Nurmagomedov’s Sambo
Sonnen is a professional wrestler and was quite efficient in using his wrestling skills during professional UFC fights. However, he was not a big fan of Sambo. Apparently, he wasn’t willing to acknowledge Sambo which Dagestani fighters such as Khabib and Islam are famous for using, as a real MMA discipline in one of his podcasts.
Sonnen said, “I don’t think sambo’s real. I never have. I think there’s a reason that you can’t get a scholarship in sambo. I think there’s a reason if you go and attend an Olympic games, they’re not going to have a sambo village. I don’t think it’s very real. But we’ve got a part of the world, headlined by Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and a whole bunch of bada**es out of Dagestan that say that I’m wrong.“
It is contrasting when you notice the change in the stance of Sonnen as he is willing to acknowledge how Khabib trains and praises his cardio. However, he is not willing to acknowledge the discipline which led to the success of the Dagestani.
