Khabib Nurmagomedov recalls details of his training camps in the mountains of Dagestan

June 29, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov trained under the tutelage of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, in the mountains of Makhachkala, Dagestan. Despite lacking resources, the training camp eventually became the breeding ground for the world’s finest grappling talent.

In a recent interview with UFC Russia, Khabib Nurmagomedov expounded on the harsh conditions he had to endure growing up in Makhachkala. The inadequacy of resources did not hold back the former UFC champion and his teammates from giving maximum effort in training sessions. Recounting the distress of living with scarce amenities in his teenage years, ‘The Eagle’ said:

“I gave it my all. For instance, we never had a shower with hot water. There was only one shower for seventy people. And when we had our training camps in the mountains, somewhere around 2005, there was no shower there. We bathed in spring water. Also, there was no washing machine. We had to walk a hundred metres to relieve ourselves. We slept in the attic: seventy people in the stacks. There was a kitchen downstairs, and it was built with stones, no grout.”

To compensate for the lack of basic training utilities, such as a wrestling mat, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his teammates made use of the abundant natural resources they had at their disposal.

“We spent ten years on that base. It was my teenage transition. We just went outside and trained in the mountains: running, lifting stones, fighting on the grass. Only once a week we had a training carpet,” added Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov’s complete interview with UFC Russia below:

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes the arduous conditions were necessary for his success as a fighter

Khabib Nurmagomedov began his training in professional combat sports at the age of 12. The Sambo practitioner achieved numerous accolades as a fighter and eventually became the UFC lightweight champion in 2018.

Nurmagomedov believes the rough conditions molded him into a world champion.

“I lived in tough conditions. Everyone needs to stay hungry. Your hunger is your most powerful internal engine. If you have everything now, what else do you need? You won’t work hard,” added Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib Nurmagomedov knows the importance of accessibility to essential resources for a growing athlete. That is why the former UFC champion is planning on launching an academy in Africa to provide underprivileged children the fortune of getting trained by the best coaches in the world.

Khabib wants to bring the UFC to Africa

“It’s a very bad situation, they don’t have water, a lot of people are dying.”

What a brilliant human he is pic.twitter.com/bvqwD4QGEN

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) September 8, 2019