A day in the life of ONE Championship’s Radeem Rahman

Mixed martial artists put in a tremendous amount of work to achieve peak physical condition.

At ONE Championship, these athletes compete against some of the best martial artists in the world, which requires these gladiators to spend multiple hours per day training to hone their craft and strengthen their bodies.

“There’s a difference between a martial artist and a fighter,” said bantamweight contender Radeem Rahman.

“A fighter only trains when there’s an upcoming event for them, while a martial artist trains every single day to improve.

“I always believed myself to be a martial artist. I train even when there’s no upcoming event.”

With that in mind, the 31-year-old offered a glimpse into his daily life to show how he maintains his form — regardless if he has an upcoming bout or not.

Morning

Rahman starts his day at 7:00 AM. He prepares to go train at Neue Fit, where he also works as an instructor.

He recently welcomed a baby daughter into his life, and while it has changed some of his routines, it hasn’t kept him from improving his martial arts skills.

“Basically, I was training three hours in the morning session,” he shared.

“Now that I have a kid, I usually cut it down to two hours. I can no longer go at around 8:00 AM, so I cut it short with my kid.”

Rahman also suffers from ligament issues. To combat that, he’ll endure rehab training twice a week to strengthen his hamstring and ACL.

Afternoon

While every day goes fairly the same, Rahman’s diet and training intensity changes when he is in camp.

Eating snacks in-between meals and having the occasional piece of fast food are quite normal for him during this time of day. However, none of these happen when he is getting ready for a match.

“During lunch, I usually eat high carbs,” he explained.

“Most of the time, I cook myself, so it’s pasta and chicken breast. So I eat, and then I rest while waiting for my next session. 

"In between sessions, most of the time I teach a kids’ class here. If there are days when I don’t teach, I would just rest before the evening session.”

His next session comes at 4:30 PM, which lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.

Night

Rahman believes food is fuel for the body, and he understands that whatever he eats could affect how he performs during training.

As such, he is mindful of his food intake during the night-time hours.

“I usually try to eat at around 8:00 PM when I’m in camp. It’s my last meal for the day. I don’t eat too much food, usually just grilled chicken,” he said.

“In fight camp, by 10:00 PM, I’ve already gone to bed, and then wake up again at 7:00 AM the next day.”

However, when he isn't in camp, he stays up later and has a little more fun.

“Sometimes I watch movies, so I stay up maybe until 11:00 PM,” he admitted.

“The worst I’ve stayed up until was 1:00 AM. But now that I have a kid, I need to put the kid to sleep first.”