10 MMA Fighters On A Vegan Diet

Highlights

• A vegan diet can actually improve athletic performance, as seen in MMA fighters like Mac Danzig.
• Switching to a plant-based diet can have positive effects on energy levels, as seen with Dan Hardy.
• Many UFC fighters have found success with a vegan diet, showing that animal products are not necessary for strength and skill.

Most people would assume that a vegan diet makes you weaker and puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting. That’s because they expect to see someone skinny and lacking muscle structure. But nowadays, it’s a well-known fact that meat isn’t the only source of protein and it can be replaced with a plant-based diet.

UFC and MMA, in general, are no strangers to vegan competitors, who fuel their bodies without consuming any form of meat, exemplified by the following 10 entries.

10 Mac Danzig Won 12 Consecutive Fights After Switching To A Vegan Diet

He Became Vegan Out Of Respect For Animals

• Mac Danzing’s MMA record is 22-12-1.
• He’s the winner of the 6th season of The Ultimate Fighter TV show.
• He’s a former KOTC lightweight champion.

According to Danzig, he has always been respectful toward nature and animals. In his interview with greatveganathletes.com, he recalls being 13 and watching a truck transporting pigs to the slaughterhouse. One of them made eye contact with young Mac, who dubbed it one of the saddest moments of his life as he grasped that those intelligent animals were sent to gruesome death.

At 16, he excluded both beef and pork from his diet. At 20, he started working at an animal sanctuary, where he met people who utilized a vegan diet and showed him alternatives to animal products.

Despite his commitment, Danzing had been told that a vegan lifestyle stands in opposition to his ambitions as a fighter and his training regimen, so he kept on eating chicken. However, he got so sick of it that he decided to cut it out. He discovered that a plant-based diet makes cutting weight easier. As he already quit dairy products in 1999, he became fully vegan. After this switch, he went on a twelve-fight winning streak, capturing the KOTC lightweight title in the process.

9 Dan Hardy Switched To A Vegan Diet To Feel Better

The Brit’s Menu Is Based Around Salads And Nuts

• Dan Hardy’s MMA record is 25-10-1.
• He currently works as an analyst for the PFL.
• Hardy’s a former Cage Warriors welterweight champion.

During his interview with joe.co.uk, he shed light on his decision to cut out any meat from his diet. According to Hardy, red meat made him feel sluggish, which made his performance worse than expected. So he decided to cut it out and search for alternatives. Milk was gone much earlier, as it made his skin dry.

Hardy experimented with his diet and became vegan but occasionally eats a few eggs or a piece of fish. Switching to fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates made him feel lighter, which translated to much better performance.

8 CM Punk’s Commitment To A Vegan Diet Is A Part Of His Straight-Edge Lifestyle

His Stint In The UFC Was Met With Negative Feedback From Fans

• CM Punk’s stint in the UFC took place between his tenures in WWE.
• He trained at famous Roufusport gym.
• His last fight was overturned to a no contest due to his opponent smoking marijuana.

Despite fighting only twice inside the octagon, CM Punk realized his dream of testing himself against other MMA fighters. He was submitted by Mickey Gall at UFC 203 and lost via unanimous decision to Mike Jackson at UFC 225.

Interestingly enough, he has already been vegan when he began his training at Roufus Sport Gym back in January 2015. He adopted a vegan diet back in 2012 due to his straight-edge lifestyle, which requires no drinking, smoking, or eating meat. CM Punk achieved it despite the discomforts of the grueling travel schedule dictated by WWE.

7 Jake Shields Has Been Raised As A Vegetarian By His Parents

Switching To A Vegan Diet Was Much Easier For Him

• Jake Shield is an acclaimed grappler.
• He’s a member of the infamous Scrap Pack.
• Shield’s a close friend to both Nate and Nick Diaz.

A lifelong vegetarian, Shields admitted that he doesn’t like the idea of eating animals. He didn’t feel right about it, so he was at least vegetarian for most of his life. However, he’s not a preachy person, so he doesn’t try to force others to change their beliefs and diet.

A friend to both Diaz brothers, who are vegans themselves, Shields switched to a fully vegan diet back in 2011. However, there were occurrences that he strayed from it by eating cheese.

6 Ashlee Evans-Smith Utilized Her Vegan Diet To Drop To 125 Pounds

She Discovered A Few More Benefits After The Switch

• Her professional MMA record is 6 – 6
• Evan-Smith is a former CFA Women’s featherweight champion
• She’s vegan since 2016

Evans-Smith came out of a household where eating healthy wasn’t a top priority. She learned more about various diets during her college days. A featherweight in the earliest stage of her career, she received an opportunity from the UFC to compete at bantamweight, under 135 lbs weight limit. She had to make a 10 lbs cut, and it came with some difficulties.

Everything changed in 2016 when she fully adopted a vegan diet. She made the diet with much less difficulty and is still active in the octagon.

According to her, the key to success is sustaining yourself. She credits a plant-based diet to her fat loss, making her full of energy in the effect.

5 Alex Caceres Doesn’t Consider Himself A Vegan Despite Cutting Down Dairy And Meat From His Diet

His Switch To A Plant-Based Diet Was Caused By A Spiritual Experience

• His professional MMA record is 21-14-1 NC.
• Cacares claims that spiritual experience led him to cut off all meat and processed food from his diet.
• He received a Submission of the night bonus on two different occasions.

At the age of 24, the Florida native had a spiritual awakening leading him to the conclusion that you are what you eat. He decided to educate himself on the topic of foods and what effects they have on the human body.

He credits the documentary movie “Forks Over Knives” for opening his eyes to the fact that most degenerative diseases can be traced back to animal-based and processed products. Caceres decided to cut dairy, lactose, all processed foods, and meat. However, he doesn’t consider himself fully vegan.

4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz Transitioned To A Vegan Diet Due To Health Issues

Polish Fighters Suffer From Hashimoto’s Disease

• She’s a former KSW women flyweight champion.
• Kowalkiewicz fought fellow Pole, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, for a UFC strawweight title.
• The two became close friends after the fight.

It’s a condition that causes one’s immune system to attack the thyroid gland. To cancel the disease’s effects, Kowalkiewicz decided to try out a vegan diet back in 2019.

The full switch happened in February 2020 before her fight against Yan Xaioan at UFC on ESPN+ 26. She lost the bout via unanimous decision. It was part of her five-fight losing streak. Fortunately, she switched her luck by beating Felice Herrig back in 2022 and enjoyed a four-fight winning series.

3 Sean O’Malley Tried A Vegan Diet For Six Months Back In 2018

He Didn’t Stick To It And Started To Eat Meat Again

• He’s the current UFC bantamweight champion.
• O’Malley impressed Dana White with his performance at the Contender Series.
• He co-hosts a podcast with his close friend, Tim Welch.

During his interview with Joe Rogan back in 2018, “Suga” recalled his experience with a vegan diet. He admitted that he didn’t feel bad or anything, but he didn’t feel great either. So he decided to eat good quality meat again, and in his own words, he felt more aggressive and manly thanks to it.

2 Nick Diaz Switched To A Vegan Diet After He Started Training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

His Example Paved The Way For His Younger Brother

• Nick Diaz is a BJJ black belt under Cesar Gracie.
• He’s a former Strikeforce and WEC welterweight champion.
• Ran his own promotion, WAR MMA back in 2013.

The two were raised by a single mother who fed them junk food on a regular basis. They don’t hold it against her as according to them, she didn’t know better. They also appreciate that she kept them fed.

Everything changed for Nick in his teenage years when he decided to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ceasar Gracie. The elder of the Diaz brothers decided to make some changes in his life, diet included, to improve his performance on the mat.

1 Nate Diaz Switched To A Plant-Based Diet Under The Influence Of His Older Brother, Nick

His First Fight With Conor McGregor Was A Clash Of Philosophies

• The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner.
• Like his brother he’s a BJJ black belt.
• He’s 1-1 against Conor McGregor.

Following his brother’s footsteps, Nate Diaz became a professional fighter himself. At 17, struggling with weight cuts, he asked Nick for advice and was told to cut down on dairy and meat. This worked for him, and the younger of the Diaz brothers became an advocate for the vegan lifestyle.

It was most exemplified during the road to his first bout with McGregor back in 2016. While Nate was open about his vegan lifestyle, the Irishman decided to ridicule him by posting himself eating a lot of red meat.

The two met at UFC 196, with Diaz submitting McGregor in the second round. This was highlighted in the documentary movie “Game Changers.”

Nick Diaz took a shot at Conor McGregor posting that he had been beaten by a vegan on his social media.