Dagestan is a combat sports nation. It is a region that has produced many Olympic and world champions in wrestling, Judo, Sambo, and Sanda. In recent years, they started taking over cage fighting and many people wonder why are Dagestani fighters so dominant in MMA.
In fact, Dagestani fighters the upper level of the MMA game with many of them looking unstoppable inside the cage. So in this article, we are going to explore this phenomenon and learn more about what makes MMA fighters from the Dagestan region such a force in the UFC.
But first, let’s take a closer look at statistics.
How Dominant Are Dagestani Fighters?
All Dagestani UFC fighters have a combined record of 179 wins and only 12 losses. If you include the Bellator champion, Usman Nurmagomegov, then it is 196 wins and 12 losses. The win rate stands at 94% and 16 to 1 win ratio. This means that Dagestani fighters win 94% of their fights.
These are the records of 10 active and recent Dagestani fighters:
· Khabib Nurmagomedov — 29–0 (13–0 UFC)
· Islam Makhachev— 24–1 (13–1 UFC)
· Muhammad Mokaev -10–0 (4–0 UFC)
· Ikram Aliskerov — 14–1 (2–0 UFC)
· Magomed Ankalaev — 18–1 (9–1 UFC)
· Said Nurmagomedov — 17–3 (6–2 UFC)
· Umar Nurmagomedov — 16–0 (4–0 UFC)
· Usman Nurmagomedov — 17–0
· Zabit Magomedsharipov — 18–1(6–0)
· Muslim Salikhov — 19–4 (6–3 UFC)
· Askar Askarov — 14–1(3–1 UFC)
Thus far, they have won three world titles:
- Khabib Nurmagomedov – UFC Lightweight Champion
- Islam Makhachev – UFC Lightweight Champion
- Usman Nurmagomedov – Bellator Lightweight Champion
Ankalaev was also close to winning another belt but his match for the vacant UFC title ended in a split draw. Also, Zabit Magomedsharipov was seen as the future champ. However, his career was cut short due to health issues.
One thing to take into consideration is that Dagestani UFC fighters are just starting. Athletes from this region are yet to unleash their full potential and bring more world titles to Dagestan soon.
Although it seems like they have been around forever, Dagetani’s dominance is in its initial phase. Fighters like Khabib and Islam were the first ones to put Dagestan on the map and the world is yet to see what this small region has to offer in the future.
All of this makes you wonder – how a country with 3.1 million people can be so successful in MMA. How do you explain such a phenomenon?
Tough and Traditional Upbringings
The Republic of Dagestan has a long fighting history. The country has gone through many turbulent political periods and military conflicts. Every generation has been a part of some armed conflict, always fighting for their freedom.
This means that the warrior mentality is stamped into DNA – it is part of who they are.
It also explains why the upbringing in Dagestan is so masculine and rigorous. Each generation must be ready to take up arms and fight for their homeland. Each man has to be capable of providing for their home and protecting their country.
Thus, knowing how to fight and having the courage to stand up for yourself is a part of being a man.
In peaceful times, martial arts training is used as a method to keep kids and teenagers disciplined, fit, on the right path, and combat-ready. Through hard work on the mats, they adopt strong discipline and mental toughness to deal with all the hardships in life.
Humble and Disciplined Lifestyle
Due to wars and political instability, the country never established economic growth. In fact, it remained closed to the world and most people grew up in poverty without many opportunities to pursue a financially better life.
Most of the champions come from humble beginnings and they take a lot of pride in that. From a young age, they embrace the philosophy of hard work from their society and learn not to be materialistic.
Dagestan’s economy primarily relies on heavy industry. This includes oil production, machine building, and metalworking. These industries own 20% of Dagestan industrial production and employ 25% of all industrial workers.
Since they didn’t have the economic riches of other countries, Dagestan focused on getting the most out of their fighting culture. They have developed advanced wrestling programs and focused on producing world champions.
As a result, most young kids idolize sports athletes. They see the sport as their way out of poverty, and a way to provide for their families. That’s why most of them enrol into martial arts at a young age and dedicate their life to succeeding. They don’t have many other options.
Training in the Mountains
Most of Dagestan is mountainous with hundreds of thousands of people living at high altitudes. These villages are barely connected to the rest of the world with inaccessible roads, making life even harder. But at the same time, these same villages have produced many Olympic and World Champions.
The two fighters famous for growing up in the mountains are Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
However, living and training at high altitudes also benefit their training. Intense workouts at high altitudes where the air is thinner support the growth of red blood cells and boost endurance.
Once they are back at sea level, Dagestani fighters have a higher number of red blood cells than people who train at sea level. This means their bodies can use less oxygen and transfer it more efficiently. In addition, high-altitude training makes their lungs and hearts stronger.
As a result, have you ever seen a Dagestani fighter gassing out in a fight? Having a problem making it to the final bell? Of course, never. They tend to perform at a high pace for the entire 15 or 25 minutes without tiring out.
Rigorous Training
Dagestan is home to many Olympic wrestling gold medalists and world champions in Combat Sambo, Sanda, and other martial arts such as Taekwondo. If any country has the knowledge and knows an ideal recipe for making great athletes, it’s Dagestan.
One of the secrets behind their success is rigorous training and hard work. Daniel Cormier, former UFC champion, sent his entire wrestling team to Dagestan to train. When the kids came back to the US, they told Cormier that his hardest workout was regular practice in Dagestan. It’s not even considered training. That’s how hard they are working over there.
For instance, Dagestan fighters often run sprints and long distances in the mountains. They spend hours each day wrestling on the mats, doing drills, and weight lifting. In some cases, they also wrestle in the sauna or outside in the snow wearing only wrestling singlets.
According to their philosophy, each training session must be harder than the fight itself. So when the time comes, they can perform without pressure and with great confidence in their preparation. Whether in a training camp or not, most athletes train three times a day.
Strong Wrestling Culture
Wrestling and martial arts practice in general is the most popular activity in Dagestan. What soccer or football is to other countries, combat sports is to Dagestan. It is a part of pop culture where most successful wrestlers and sambo fighters are among the most popular figures in the region.
They are portrayed as national heroes and role models the entire young generation looks up to. While kids in other countries dream about playing soccer, basketball, or football, Dagestani kids idolize fighters and they are encouraged to join one of many wrestling training programs from a young age.
According to research, there are around 50.000 wrestlers in the capital of Makhackala alone. Bear in mind that Makhackala is home to half a million people out of which 10% of them are skilled wrestlers. This on its own gives you a good insight into how what wrestling represents in Dagestan.
The majority of MMA fighters from Dagestan started wrestling at a very young age. They spend their youth training in some of the best facilities under Olympic-level coaches which enables them to develop an incredible wrestling foundation on top of which they can later build more and since the majority of them grew up on the wrestling mats, their athleticism is framed around grappling and fighting.
Combine this with the fact that most UFC champions come from wrestling, and you get why they are so dominant.
How To Defend a Takedown in MMA (5 Best Methods)
Combat Sambo and Sanda Influence
Most Dagestani fighters grew up training in wrestling. At some point, they decided to transition to other disciplines to make their game all around. In most cases, they go into Sanda to learn striking, or Combat Sambo which resembles MMA.
Sambo, in particular, has produced many great UFC champions. Nurmagomedov, Makhachev, and Emelianenko are some of the notable ones.
Sambo has similar rules to MMA. The only major difference is the duration of matches as Sambo fights last only 5 minutes. Thus, the emphasis is on high-pace fighting as you don’t need to manage cardio and finish the match as fast as possible.
As a result, Sambo fighters prefer to step on the gas right from the opening second. They throw each strike with full power and are explosive in their takedown and submission attempts. Their style is really aggressive because you don’t get much time to be too strategic.
This unique combination of high-level wrestling and Combat Sambo skills is what people call a unique Dagestani style of fighting.
You can instantly recognize this if you look at Dagestani UFC fighters and how they fight. They are doing the same thing as Sambo skills are the bread and butter of their success in MMA. Also, it’s really hard for the opponent to defend against this unique style simply because you don’t have access to it outside of Dagestan.
Just about all the famous Dagestan MMA fighters we have listed above have some type of background in Sambo or Sanda.
Work Ethic and Commitment
Dagestani fighters are among the most committed athletes. They believe in hard work, dedication to the goals, and limiting distractions. You won’t see them engaging in trash-talk or at least starting it, or trying to hype and sell a fight by being loud.
They don’t wear expensive clothes, drive supercars, or promote flashy lifestyles. They don’t do movie roles, film vlogs, do long interviews, and most of them do not even do commercials.
In fact, they usually look uninterested and quiet. All of that media work is a distraction to them. Something that’s not related to their main objective – winning a fight.
There is always a sense that becoming a champion is more important than money, fame, or media exposure. Most of them only care about winning and representing their nation and religion in the best way possible.
What these athletes do is sleep, eat, and train, and they have been continuously doing that since a very young age. There is no partying, taking long breaks from competition and training, or spending too much time on hobbies. No, their entire life is framed around fighting and they are always in fight shape ready to answer the call.
And this combination of patriotic and warrior archetypes, poverty, competitive culture, and rough environment is what makes the athletes from Dagestan so tough, persistent, humble, dedicated, and successful in combat sports.
Final Thoughts on Dagestani Dominance in MMA
Dagestan UFC fighters are here to stay. This is only the start as this is the first generation of athletes that is paving the way for the younger ones that will come in the future. In fact, the second generation in Aliskerov and Mokaev is already showcasing the same potential, talent, and dominance.
Back at home, the likes of Nurmagomedov and Makhachev have become the most popular individuals in the region. They are portrayed as heroes with all the kids idolizing their successes and being inspired. In these two figures alone, they see how much you can achieve with hard work, dedication, and self-belief.
As a result, the MMA world may expect many champions to come out from this region in the following years.
