He returned to my gym with grocery bags and moved into a room – Khamzat Chimaev’s coach on how ‘Borz’ shifted to Sweden for MMA training

Alan Finfou, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach of Khamzat Chimaev, has revealed how the UFC welterweight went about deciding to move to Stockholm.

For as long as MMA fans can remember, Khamzat Chimaev has been part of the Allstars Training Center family in Stockholm, Sweden. He comes out with the Swedish flag, he’s proud to reside there, and he still manages to maintain strong connections to his roots in Chechnya. At 4-0, ‘Borz’ already seems to be making the most of his Allstars coaching as he continues to serve as one of the promotion’s hottest prospects.

While he has a lot of natural talent, it took some serious hard work to get him to the point he’s at today. In a recent interview with journalist Laerte Viana, the aforementioned Finfou spoke about how willing Khamzat was to completely change his lifestyle:

“One day he watched MMA and fell in love and moved to Stockholm. He came only to visit first and he could see all the fighters there, the ones he only saw on television. Then he asked us, ‘If I move to here, will you train me?’ I replied okay and he left for his city. Three or four days later he returned to my gym with a lot of grocery bags and moved into a room at my gym, and so that’s how the work began, about four years ago.”

Watch Alan Finfou in conversation with journalist Laerte Viana below:

When is Khamzat Chimaev next fighting?

The next fight scheduled for Khamzat Chimaev looks set to be at UFC 273 on April 9. On that night in Jacksonville, the plan is for him to take on Gilbert Burns.

Both men have been going back and forth at each other for weeks now over the prospect of becoming the No.1 contender at welterweight. The victor isn’t guaranteed to get a shot at Kamaru Usman. However, if the win is emphatic, they could be in that conversation alongside Leon Edwards.

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