Ahead of his fight at UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev has made significant changes to his training by reconnecting with his first wrestling coach, Salim Noutsalkhanov – a renowned figure with experience coaching Olympic and national-level wrestlers.

This camp, held in the mountains away from city distractions, aims to prepare Chimaev for his middleweight showdown against former champion Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi.

Noutsalkhanov’s coaching pedigree is impressive, having trained elite wrestlers like three-time Olympic gold medalist Buvaisar Saitiev and many other champions.

Chimaev credits him with introducing a more strategic training approach, designed to optimize recovery and reduce the risk of overtraining – issues that have plagued Chimaev in the past, leading to health problems.
Reflecting on the experience in an interview with TNT Sports, Chimaev shared:

I trained with him when I was young, he was a coach for the national team in Chechnya.
He focused on older guys who were competing for senior levels. Now, we’re starting again.

There’s nobody here, it’s a closed space for Olympic wrestlers. They gave me the gym, food, and everything.
It’s just my team and me – a perfect place to focus on training and recovery.

Chimaev emphasized how this remote setup has minimized distractions, allowing him to fully commit to his fight prep:

It’s different from the camps in the city.
Traveling back and forth, friends and all these distractions can ruin your training.

In Stockholm, everyone knows me, and if someone is sick, they come to me, shake my hand, hug me, and I catch whatever they have.