Khabib Nu͏rm͏agom͏edov may have stepped away from the octagon, but people still use him as an example. Young fighters want to replicate his spotless record. However, the Russian has his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov and his protégé Is͏lam Makhac͏hev to carry his legacy forward. And BJJ legend Roy͏ce Gr͏acie is all for it!

In a discussion with UFC’s Joe Rogan on the JRE podcast, he shared how the Dagestani were all extremely disciplined. Most of their fighters are either undefeated or have fewer losses. Nonetheless, what is the reason behind this kind of grit and discipline? Unlike many fighters, Dagestanis indulge themselves in such rigorous training regimens that sometimes they even forget to rest. According to Rogan, this is the reason for their success.

In his conversation with BJJ legend, Roy͏ce Gr͏acie ͏on ‘JRE MMA Show #156, Joe Rogan doubled down on a Khabib Nurmagomedov moment, where he conveyed that young talented fighters should never waste their time when they are doing well. “I was watching this, uh, interview with, uh, Khabib, where he was talking. It was a conversation that he was having with someone who was talking about young people, that it’s so important that they maintain focus,” said the podcaster.

He further mentioned, “Because a young guy who’s really talented and is above and better than everybody else when he’s 18, sometimes they’ll slack off and then they come back to it when they’re like 22. But then, by then, they’re average, and everybody else has gotten much better, and they lost that advantage. And they’ll never, they won’t be special.”

The multimillion-dollar podcaster further explained that if such a young kid stays consistent with his progress, he will surely become a champion one day. “But the guy who’s 18, who’s above and beyond everybody else in the gym, that guy, if he can maintain that discipline and maintain that focus, then he can go on to become a champion.”

For the former UFC lightweight champion, the discipline was inculcated by his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Abdulmanap was Nurmagomedov’s coach and mentor and often punished his son. Remember his brawl with Dillon Danis after UFC 229 (Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Conor McGregor)? That was perhaps one of the rare instances where the usually stoic Russian fighter let his emotions get the better of him.

Yes, the promotion was unhappy with all the chaos, but Abdulmanap was furious. “My team has always been famous for discipline,” the father said. “So the sanctions against Khabib will be tougher than the UFC.” Therefore, it is clear that the Dagestanis take their code of conduct very seriously.

However, getting back to Rogan and Gr͏acie’s discussion on the JRE MMA Show, the latter too had a lot of things to say about Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team.

Roy͏ce Gr͏acie praised the Dagestani camp for their nature!

What separates mediocre fighters from champions? Well, according to UFC 1 winner Roy͏ce Gr͏acie, it is their absolute will to be the best and sacrifice everything for it. In the same conversation, Gr͏acie highlighted the fact that the Dagestani camp fighters are so disciplined that they don’t focus on girlfriends or wives.

“I don’t think just because of their wrestling. I think it’s because of their discipline. And I tell a lot of people that those guys don’t think about anything else. Just train. There’s no the, the girlfriend, or wife. They’re not thinking about any of that! There’s no partying. That’s all they do. Get up, train, sleep, eat, train,” said Garcia.

The legendary BJJ specialist further added that they are so focused that they don’t even allow any holidays, birthdays, or anything to get themselves distracted. That’s indeed a huge sacrifice that might be working quite well for team Khabib. And this is something Joe Rogan has acknowledged several times on his podcast.

In a previous episode, the UFC color commentator outlined how they don’t drink and are “insanely dedicated to their craft. And they are the most dominant.” So is it surprising that Khabib Nurmagomedov boasts wins over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje What’s your opinion on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s training principles? Share your thoughts in the comments below.