We take a look at the top 5 fighters in the UFC who have stayed vegan in their professional career
In a sport like UFC, diet is a key component to keeping the athletes fit throughout the year. Many focus on different aspects of the food variants to make a positive impact in their game. Protein, carbohydrates, fats are few components that make a huge difference in keeping the weight scales to the precise requirement.
However, in recent years, many UFC fighters have decided to take a vegan approach, avoiding all kinds of dairy and meat to improve their growth. While experts say that the move is a helpful one, there are few who argue that performances can be improved while choosing to stick to meat and dairy.
We analyse the top 5 fighters in UFC who have taken a vegan approach in their careers:
Nick Diaz is one of the prolific fighters who has changed his diet during his career. He has been one of the biggest names in UFC history with his brother, Nate.
“I eat no meat or dairy, and I not only fight, but compete in triathlons. I am a big believer in a clean diet.”
Diaz, who didn’t compete in the UFC since 2015, took on familiar foe Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. The entertaining fight ended in a third-round TKO win for Robbie Lawler, who made it 1-1 in their rivalry. c
Colleen Schneider is an American female Mixed Martial arts Fighter who performed in the flyweight division of Bellator MMA. She made her debut against Chrissie Daniels during Bellator 170 but has links with the UFC as well.
She was also on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs Team Tate but never made it to the main UFC events.
Schneider retired with a record of 11 wins and 8 losses.
Schneider has been vocal about her diet helping her become one of the most dominant women in her division, back in the days. She said: (h/t Vegan News)
“I stopped eating any kind of meat when I was 5 years old, the day I found out it came from animals. That initial motivation still holds, but there are many other factors that now support that choice for me. I’ve done sports my whole life, and now compete professionally in MMA. I’m strong, fit, have energy to train all day and recover quickly. ”
Kowalkiewicz switched to a vegan diet in 2019. The Polish also suffers from Hashimoto’s disease, usually known to attack the thyroid gland and she has admitted that her diet has kept her health in check and helped stabilise her performances in the Octagon.
The post disease recovery made her switch on a permanent basis and now is a common part of her day. The strawweight contender has been one of the forces in her division and holds a 13-7-0 record.
She recently got back on track with an impressive win over Felice Herrig at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Rozenstruik in June 2022.
At 24, things seemed to change for the Miami-born fighter which he defines as a ‘spiritual awakening.’ Caceres reduced the intake of dairy, lactose, processed foods, and processed meat and switched to a vegan-based approach.
According to him, the move has helped him stay longer in fights and given him more agility in the final rounds of the fight. He is now at 145 lbs and holds a 19-13-0 record in MMA.
Nate Diaz is arguably the most famous vegan in UFC. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter 5 revealed that he stopped eating meat at 18. Despite his attempts at trying meat, he admitted to not liking it and preferred a plant-based diet even in his training sessions.
Diaz lost against Leon Edwards at UFC 263, in his last fight. He is a former welterweight champion in Strikeforce, WEC, and IFC.
Besides this, Nate and his brother Nick have been one of the biggest users of marijuana.
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