You read that headline correctly; surging Russian UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov grew up wrestling bears.
Shocking case of animal cruelty? Horrifying example of child abuse? Yet another example of why it’s surprising the Russians won the Cold War? Genuinely adorable because watching a small child and a young bear roll around together is incredibly cute?
You decide.
Anyway, the video was alerted out by the MMA podcast Word on the Street over Twitter:
UFC WTF VIDEO: Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestling an actual bear at the age of 9. Really. http://t.co/1imxJ4EWzT
— Word On The Street (@TheAntJimmyShow) November 14, 2013
Granted, the video can be looked at in many ways in a serious light, but let’s just focus on the fact that it shows just how incredibly tough “The Eagle” really is. These days, he is bouncing between gyms, but spends most of his time with the Fight Spirit Gym while fitting in some time with the American Kickboxing Academy. Neither of those gyms include bear wrestling in their training regimen.
The Russian has been on an absolute tear in the UFC, going 5-0 in the promotion to improve his record to 21-0 overall. His most recent fight saw him absolutely manhandle the steely veteran Pat Healy, who previously beat the likes of Carlos Condit, Paul Daley and Dan Hardy at welterweight, en route to a clean 30-27 decision.
Nurmagomedov doesn’t currently have another fight lined up, but there have been many rumbles regarding a possible top contender bout between him and former Strikeforce lightweight champion (and previous UFC lightweight title contender) Gilbert Melendez. In today’s super-stacked lightweight division, though, there are a load of other viable matchups for him.
Stick with Bleacher Report for more details on Nurmagomedov’s future as they become available.
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