Why Are Dagestan MMA Fighters So Good and Dominant?
MMA fighters from the east, notably Dagestan, are no longer seen as up and coming talents. No, their time has come and they are more than present at the highest level of the UFC. There is one study showing that fighters from Dagestan have won 87% of their fights or 6.7 wins per loss. This is crazy.
These fighters are a tough matchup for anyone, so much that most other UFC fighters do not want to cross paths with them. But what is the secret behind their rise? What makes fighters from Dagestan so good?
Be sure to read this article to find out all the major answers. We will go deep into the culture they are coming from, and what skills separate them from the rest.
A mindset of a true warrior
We can often hear fighters talking about how they have a strong mindset all the time. But fighters from Dagestan all come from humble beginnings and they all grew up with the bullets flying over their heads. They have all felt the harsh reality of war and modest life, which is what makes them so tough.
For the ones not familiar with it, Dagestan is a country that was involved in many wars. Fighters like Khabib or Islam are born and raised to be ready for battle. And we are not talking about battling inside the cage, but to grab a rifle and go into a war zone. It’s fair to say that fighting and surviving are stamped deep into their genetic codes.
And you can see and even feel this when they are fighting, or even during the interviews. They carry this type of warrior spirit wherever they go and losing is not an option. It doesn’t matter if it’s MMA, war, or a street fight in the backyard, it’s kill or be killed for them.
They are into combat sports all of their lives
Combat sports are a part of the culture in Dagestan. This may sound weird to people who live in the western world where the most popular sports are soccer or basketball. But for the people of Dagestan, arts like wrestling and sambo are not just sports that keep their kids busy. No, training hard from a young age is a part of upbringing. In fact, combat sports are a part of their education system as well.
Training hard from an early age has many benefits when it comes to pro-MMA fighting. It teaches a kid all about discipline, respect, and how important it is to work hard to achieve your goals. The one thing they all say during the media work is two words “hard work”. People over there do not believe that much in talent as much as they believe in working hard.
And on the other side, we don’t have to spend much time talking about how crucial this is when it comes to skills. Wrestling from an early age gives you a huge advantage later when you start fighting in pro matches. By the time they shift over to MMA, most of the fighters from this region have 10+ years of experience in competition.
Once they shift over to MMA, they are already complete athletes. Imagine a 20 year old fighter from Dagestan, with all that experience, making a debut against the fighter who started training MMA two years ago.
Insane wrestling skills
It’s not a secret that all fighters from Dagestan have strong wrestling skills. I mean, wrestling and sambo are national sports over there and a part of their culture. The entire region is a home of many Olympic and world champions, and above all, great coaches. But what separates fighters like Khabib or Islam from other wrestlers in MMA is the style. The form of wrestling you learn in Dagestan differs a lot from the same one you learn in the west.
“I think like, 90 percent, like, everybody wrestling because this is like national sport in Dagestan. That’s why people love this sport. We have many, many Olympic champions. And USA have national sport like football, but Dagestan, we have wrestling.” — UFC Fighter, Islam Makachev, source
First of all, the Dagestan type of wrestling focuses much more on technique and skills, rather than sheer power. But the key skill that makes their wrestling so good is the mindset. Once again, Dagestan fighters and the warrior spirit they carry with them is what sets them above the rest. And this is not our opinion, Khabib talked about this on few occasions.
If you look at their style of fighting, the only way to describe it is “relentlessness”. They will chase the takedown as their lives depend on it. It’s really amazing to see them shooting for a takedown ten times without gassing out.
Timing a takedown and shooting in a perfect moment is just a single step for them. They are already expecting that the opponent will try to get up, how they will try to do that, and how to stop them. Dagestan fighters are so good at this that they think three, four, or five steps in advance.
Even when things do not go as planned, they will find a way to get what they want. They will switch to a double leg, shift the weight, and continue to mix things up until you go down.
Awkward but effective standup skills
When they first appeared in MMA, Dagestan fighters were all about wrestling. They never spent too much time on the feet trading strikes. I mean, why would you do that if you are so good at taking people down and holding them there. But over the years, they have all learned how to strike, and they became good at it. And let’s not forget that striking arts like Wushu Sanda are also very popular in that region.
In most cases, they use striking to set up takedowns, but they also have enough power to hurt the opponent. And this happens quite often, even when they are facing elite-level strikers.
You see, most of their opponents are too worried about the takedowns. They would hesitate to apply their own game just because they are thinking too much about the takedown. This is notably true if the opponent is a vicious striker who doesn’t have good takedown defense.
Don’t look any further from Khabib’s fight against Conor McGregor or Edson Barboza. In the second round, he faked a takedown attempt so that Conor can drop his hands low, and then he blasted the Irishman with the right hand over the top. This was huge since no one expected to see Khabib knocking down Conor. But it is a great instance of how they use wrestling reputation to fool the opponent and hurt them with strikes.
Grueling training regime and insane cardio
MMA fighters from Dagestan all have cardio for days. They are a very tough matchup for anyone simply because they will always press forward, push the hard pace, and never tire out. You can punch, kick or elbow them in the face, they will keep coming at you as long as they are conscious. The science behind their insane cardio is very simple. As they would say, it’s all about “hard work brother”.
Whether they have a fight booked or not, Dagestan fighters are training all the time and they are always in shape. It even doesn’t matter if they are in the U.S. or Dagestan, you will never see them taking long breaks. And if you combine that with cardio intense workouts they do in the mountains at high altitude, you get a machine that never tires out. For sure, this type of lifestyle is very hard, but it also has many benefits when it comes to competition.
First of all, training hard and staying in top shape makes their lives much easier during hard weight cuts. Training all the time helps them to stay at optimal weight. The second reason is most fighters who get out of shape, spend the first couple of weeks of training camp getting back in shape, which is a waste of time. Instead, Dagestan fighters would enter the camp in shape, and start working on learning new skills and preparing for a fight from day 1.
Final thoughts- they are all brothers
One of the most interesting things about Dagestan fighters is their unity. They are all one big family who lives, breathes, and trains together. Of course, there are exceptions, but overall, their community is very strong and they will die for each other. You can look at them as one super team of only the best fighters from one specific region, training together with a mission to conquer the world. That’s beautiful.
If you follow the lives of Khabib or Islam, you can see that they are always in a group of 10–15 people. They sleep, eat, train, and push each other towards the same goals. These people are all very skilled fighters who have only one goal in life, and that is to make their nation and families proud. Their mission is much larger than money and fame, and that’s what so special about them.
