Khamzat Chimaev has made quite an impression.
Chimaev is surging at a rapid rate. After easily winning his first two UFC fights with just 10 days apart, the Chechen-Swedish prospect knocked out veteran Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds at UFC Vegas 11.
Chimaev has a perfect 9-0 record in MMA. Six of those wins came via knockout and three came by way of submission.
Chimaev has a rich wrestling background taking bronze in the Russian junior wrestling championships. He then wrestled for Swedish Wrestling club BK Athén. He easily won the Swedish national wrestling Championship in freestyle in 2018. He won his matches with a convincing 10-0, 10-0, 10-0 through the tournament and 7-0 in the final. Chimaev has won the Swedish Wrestling Championships in both welterweight and middleweight.
He recently started to train BJJ in the Gi at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden. His BJJ instructor Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, a multiple-time BJJ world champion, felt it was time for Chimaev to be awarded his blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu back in August 2020.
Multi- champion in Jiu-Jitsu, Alan Finfou is also notable for his teacher side and, over the past few years, he has built solid work in Europe focused on Jiu-Jitsu. In addition, the black belt is responsible for sharpening the ground game of other MMA stars such as Ilir Latifi or Alexander Gustafson.
Chimaev was about to make the most important fight of his career, against Leon Edwards, last year, he was attacked by Covid-19 and with symptoms caused by the virus, which caused the fight to be canceled. In an interview with TATAME, Finfou – who also tested positive at the time – recalled the difficult period the athlete went through, as he explained below.
“Me and Chimaev traveled to Las Vegas together, to fight Leon Edwards, in December of last year. Then it happened that the two of us took Covid-19 together and we were very bad, we were very affected by this virus. We went back to Sweden later, to continue the recovery, but Chimaev was having a lot of difficulties to train. What happened was that, after all the symptoms had passed and we were already in the recovery process, Chimaev went back to training to fight Edwards, now on Figh Island (fight rescheduled, and later canceled again). Only, one day of training, he just started coughing up blood and we were all very worried. We talked a lot, because the coach’s job is to be part of the athlete’s life at all times. It was a very difficult time for him, very difficult indeed.”
“I was also very surprised, but I understand his side, because he’s a new guy and he’s been through a lot of frustration in a row. There was a very important fight, where we made a very good preparation, and then he gets sick and the disease affects him a lot, it takes him out of the fight… He was totally devastated, at least for about 10 days, with this virus. The phases of symptoms passed, he began to recover and then they reschedule the fight to a new date. We start training again and in the middle of a workout he starts coughing up blood. He got into despair, because he thought the worst would happen, that’s why he wanted to stop fighting, because he acted in despair. Then he calmed down, put his head on straight, and hit head-on with his problems. Now he’s back, healed, and hungry to fight again.”
Without fighting since September, when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in just 17 seconds of duel, Khamzat Chimaev has already returned to training since the beginning of the year and is looking forward to his return. Some names have already been considered, including Nick Diaz, who hasn’t been in an official fight since 2015, but just recognizing the importance of a fight against the American, Alan Finfou, that the preference is for an active and well-ranked opponent.
“The plans are for him to fight in the second half of the year. There were some comments that he could face Nick Diaz, but I believe Diaz is a legend in the sport and every fight is a fight. Whether it’s Nick Diaz or anyone else, the job will be the same, professionalism is always there. Of course, the ideal would be to face an athlete who is much better ranked, because our focus is the belt, but no matter who comes, he has to be prepared, focused and do the job.”
“In my opinion, he is, yes, one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. He already shone in his UFC debut and in the following fights. But I’m not surprised, because I’ve been following Chimaev for a long time here in Sweden, he’s been here at the gym with us for four years and he’s always shown exceptional dedication from day one, I’ve never seen anything like that in any other athlete. Chimaev demands a lot, he always wants to learn and evolve in every way. That’s what sets him apart from the rest. For me, he’s already one of the stars of the UFC. It has proven its worth and shown that it is in the right place. I can already see him being champion of his division very soon”.
Besides Khamzat Chimaev, Alan Finfou is also responsible for sharpening the Jiu-Jitsu of Alexander Gustafsson , who has already competed for the UFC light heavyweight belt on more than one occasion, but is currently going through a difficult phase in his career. The Swede is coming off three consecutive losses, the last one suffered in July, to Fabrício Werdum still in the first round. Alan Finfou preached respect for the history built by Gustafsson in MMA and emphasized that he believes in the recovery of the experienced athlete, currently 34 years old.
“Gustafsson, for me, will always be a legend, especially here in Sweden. He managed to put Sweden on the MMA scene and it all came from him. He’s been going through a very difficult time in his career, but I really believe in his potential. Once Gustafsson organizes everything he needs to organize in his private life, he will still surprise a lot of people. He’s thinking about going down to light heavyweight again and, after the loss to Fabrício Werdum, decisions were made, and now it’s just a matter of executing everything we planned. He is training, without so much pressure and intensity, but probably, in the very near future, he will return. By September I believe he will be back, but he has been training since the beginning of the year and I believe a lot in him. He’s one of the guys I have the most friendships with, since the first day I started training MMA athletes, and I have a lot of confidence, both in the person and in the athlete. He has a lot of wood to burn in the light heavyweight category”, he concluded.
