Professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Yancy Medeiros recently adopted a plant-based diet. The 32-year-old fighter made the transition with the help of fellow mixed martial artists Nick Diaz (a retired UFC Champion) and Nate Diaz (a current UFC fighter), brothers who are known for abstaining from animal products. “It’s definitely a lifestyle for me being plant-based,” Medeiros told MMA Junkie. “I’m not vegan. I’m not against people that eat meat. I don’t pay your bills and put food on your table. Who am I to tell you what to eat? But I am empathetic about the world and the animals. I still stay in my lane, right, and my lane is wide, but I just eat plants, and I have nothing against it.” The MMA fighter said that while health is not a motivating factor for his choice to ditch animal products, his family members—who have also eschewed animal products—have enjoyed some hefty health benefits. “I’ve seen my daughter lose 20 pounds. My dad lost 100 pounds. My mom lost 40 pounds, so it’s all healthy. No working out, just eating plants,” Medeiros said. “And it’s the truth for me, and I just live that way, and that’s what keeps me at peace knowing that I have all this love and joy and joyfulness around me. They’re going to be with me for a very long time.” 

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