01 / uncertainty

12 Aug 2026

I knew it wasn’t something I could get away with. So, you know, since childhood, I was lucky that my father always kept me close, and I found myself in this environment among fighters who at that time- … were, I don’t know, they just didn’t compete in America and Europe back then.

“I knew it wasn’t something I could get away with. So, you know, since childhood, I was lucky that my father always kept me close, and I found myself in this environment among fighters who at that time- … were, I don’t know, they just didn’t compete in America and Europe back then.”

Speaker: Khabib Nurmagomedov
Episode: #500 – Khabib Nurmagomedov: Dagestan, MMA, UFC, Islam, Conor, Fedor & Football
Publisher: Lex Fridman Podcast

Khabib Nurmagomedov

What Khabib said.

I knew it wasn’t something I could get away with. So, you know, since childhood, I was lucky that my father always kept me close, and I found myself in this environment among fighters who at that time- … were, I don’t know, they just didn’t compete in America and Europe back then.

I never had that in my head, that I could get hit, that I’d get a scratch, and so on. I don’t know if you can call it perfectionism.