“Those guys don’t think about anything else. [They] just train,” said Royce Gracie while discussing Dagestani wrestlers. Joe Rogan, who greatly admires them, agreed. But who disagreed? Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Dagestani himself.

On the JRE MMA Show #156, Rogan and Gracie talked about places that have produced the best fighters in the world. And, well, considering the Republic of Dagestan has given the combat world the privilege of witnessing the likes of Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Umar Nurmagomedov, Dagestani fighters became a focal point in their discussion. “I don’t think [they’re great] just because of their wrestling. I think it’s because of their discipline,” the BJJ legend said. However, Khabib Nurmagomedov begged to differ.

It’s no secret that the Dagestani fighters have to go through a lot in their training, pushing themselves to the absolute limit. Perhaps that’s what makes them some of the best fighters in the world. Because of this, the Dagestani camp has garnered quite a bit of appreciation from the world of mixed martial arts. As Rogan and Gracie acknowledged this, Nurmagomedov made a striking revelation on Instagram, presumably in response to the UFC commentator’s remarks.

Posting a picture of himself, seemingly in his camp, ‘The Eagle’ wrote, “I have seen many talented guys in the hall, and almost all of them are lazy because things are easy for them; they are born gifted by God. Talent must be backed by hard work👊” [Translated by Instagram] The Dagestani training camp is infamous for having the same hairstyle, no distractions, and keeping all of their focus on training and getting better. With Nurmagomedov as their head, one can imagine how strong the fighters would be once they complete their basic training. However, it all goes to waste without hard work.

Hard work. There’s no denying that Nurmagomedov had a 29-0 record because of it and that he’s a former UFC lightweight champion because of it. Now that he’s retired, he’s putting in the same amount of work to train fighters in the Dagestani camp. But his post suggested that things have certainly changed from when he was an active fighter. Perhaps his reasoning for writing this was his pupils’ hilarious plea to “send [Khabib to] Russia.”

Last year, Javier Mendez attended one of Nurmagomedov’s training sessions, after which he recorded a few fighters’ reactions. Evidently, they were drenched in sweat and looked beyond exhausted. Their remarks only confirmed that. One said, “Every day, he kill everybody [in training],” while another was just done. They said, “Buy for him ticket, and send him [to] Russia, please.” The best part was that the former UFC Lightweight champion agreed with them.

When Mendez asked why his fighter called him crazy, Nurmagomedov replied, “Honestly, it was too much. I agree with them.” Recently, he also acknowledged the fact that his trainees aren’t the biggest fans of his training regimes. Posting a picture with all of them on Instagram, Khabib cheekily wrote, “I know they don’t like me ))) But who cares 😁”

Khabib Nurmagomedov may have made a striking revelation about the Dagestani camp. Whether or not that’ll change Joe Rogan’s views about them remains to be seen. That said, why does Joe Rogan appreciate the Dagestani camp so much?

Joe Rogan’s true reason for why he loves the Dagestani team

Previously, on JRE, Joe Rogan revealed why he had so much admiration for Nurmagomedov’s team. He pointed straight towards the ‘no distractions’ part of their life. Acknowledging that some of the most dominant fighters have come from Nurmagomedov’s camp, he felt it was because “they wear their hair all exactly the same way. They practice. All they care about is family, religion, training. They don’t chase girls, they don’t drink. They are just training constantly like insanely dedicated to their craft.”

In fact, Royce Gracie had something similar to say during his conversation with Rogan. “There’s no girlfriend or wife. They’re not thinking about any of that! So yeah, they don’t [care] about anything else. They’re just more disciplined than this side of the world.”

Rogan also set Nurmagomedov as an example. He revealed that despite being rich, the former MMA champion led a simple and humble life. He drove a Toyota truck, lived in the same house, and focused almost all of his energy on the betterment of the fighters in his team. However, he chose an early retirement to spend time with his family, only to return as Islam Makhachev prepares to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. 

What are your thoughts on the Dagestani team? Let us know in the comments down below.