Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov has transitioned to coaching since he retired from MMA
in 2020. The former
UFC lightweight champion’s training sessions are well known for
being brutal, leaving no room for slack.
Nurmagomedov (29-0) recently revealed what a usual fight camp under
him looks like. The team is made up of around 30 fighters, who
train four hours a day – two hours of MMA training and two hours of
cardio. “The Eagle” revealed that most fighters are exhausted after
a week and take it up with American Kickboxing Academy head coach,
Javier Mendez. While Mendez mostly dismisses their pleas, he
sometimes advises Nurmagomedov to take it down a notch.
Nurmagomedov understands that not everyone is ready to leave it all
behind on the mats, and they need to be trained differently.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
“Four weeks before the fight, around 30 people are going to come
and we train day and night,” Nurmagomedov said at the World Sports
Summit. “In the morning we train MMA, and at night we only do
cardio. Maybe boxing cardio, wrestling cardio. Two hour morning,
two hour night, every day we train four hours. Guys, when they come
here, after one week they feel very tired and they try to talk with
me, and when they’re not successful, they go to Coach Javier. Coach
Javier most of time says no. But sometimes he says, ‘Khabib, I
think you you have to take it easy with this guy.’ Because some
fighters don’t know how to take off. Some fighters want to do their
best but some fighters like a little bit of cheating. Because
everybody is different and we have to know them personally.”
Khabib reveals how an ideal fight camp runs
in his team 🗓️“Four weeks before the fight, around 30 people are going to come
and we train day and night. In the morning we train MMA, and at
night we only do cardio. Every day we train four hours. Guys, when
they come here, after… pic.twitter.com/MqmnhoyMJY— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
December 30, 2025