Khabib Nurmagomedov has not fought since October 2020 – his lightweight title defense against Justin Gaethje (whom he put to sleep with a Triangle Choke). And to say that he’s enjoying the retirement is to put it lightly – especially the diet part.
It was at a Human Appeal charity event in London last week that Khabib shared how staying away from food was one of the toughest things for him:
It was one of the hardest things in my life to stay away from food, even now. Because for 15 years I was on a diet, maybe more. To make weight, I had to stay on a diet all my life.
Being a religious person, we have to stay away from a lot of things. When food comes on the table, sometimes you want to enjoy it.
I have to train every day for five hours to get back to 86 kilo, or I can live a happy life. I’m going to be happy and drink Pepsi.
He now weighs over 200lbs:
I weigh 205lb now, maybe 204lb in the morning if I don’t have dessert the night before.
When I was an active fighter, I was around 190lb and I cut weight to 155lb. I finished my career, I gained about five kilos, but I can’t do anything with this.
Khabib still trains, though the intensity of training is nowhere near to the one of fight camps:
I train maybe one hour a day. But before, when I was active, I was training at least four hours every day.
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