"They don't chase women"- Training with Khabib Nurmagomedov gave Nate Diaz’s teammate eye-opening perspective on his team's unmatched dominance

Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov may not see eye to eye, having engaged in heated exchanges and even a full-blown brawl in the past. That being said, training with Nurmagomedov offered one of Diaz’s teammates a deeper understanding of the dominance displayed by the Dagestani fighters.

During a recent appearance on the Overdogs Podcast with Mike Perry, Diaz's teammate Jake Shields claimed that the Russian team's success is rooted in a blend of wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and sambo, which creates a grappling style focused on relentless top pressure and positional control. While American wrestlers often emphasize one-dimensional techniques, Dagestanis excel by integrating elements of multiple disciplines.

Beyond technical prowess, they also have an unparalleled commitment to discipline. Dagestani fighters avoid distractions like drinking or pursuing fame, dedicating themselves entirely to training from a young age. Having trained with Nurmagomedov several times in the past, Shields is cognizant of the factors behind their success. He said:

"I trained with Khabib [and] he was really hard to sweep. Hard to get in anything so it might be their style too. They're really hard to guillotine. But they also are learning a lot of this jiujitsu stuff and they won't call it jiu-jitsu but they're paying attention. Like, look at Islam [Makhachev] for example. His guard passing [is] so good, his mount, his back takes, he's like for sure a high-level black belt. They've just blended the martial arts grappling [disciplines] together so well. They blended the Dagestani wrestling style with pieces of jiu-jitsu, pieces of sambo [and] the grappling style is really impressive."

He added:

"They don't chase women, they don't drink. That's the problem with a lot of fighters who can suck into like, 'Oh! I got little fame this is like easy."

Check out Jake Shields' comments below (32:30):

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Jake Shields talks about Khabib Nurmagomedov being escorted from Frontier Airlines flight

Khabib Nurmagomedov was recently removed from a Frontier Airlines flight following a dispute over his seating in the exit row. The former UFC lightweight champion refused to vacate his exit row seat despite repeated requests from the crew.

The incident occurred on a Las Vegas to Los Angeles flight, and a widely circulated video showed Nurmagomedov calmly exiting the plane after refusing to move. Shedding light on the matter during his appearance on the aforementioned podcast episode with Mike Perry, Shields said:

"I think it was stupid man. Why kick him off? He speaks good English, it's ridiculous. It was just some chick wanting to play a power trip."

Check out Jake Shields' comments below: