Alan Nascimento, the jiu-jitsu coach at Allstars Training Center in
Sweden, has had the opportunity to see the likes of Alexander
Gustafsson and Khamzat
Chimaev in the gym on a daily basis.
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According to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, fans input played
a key role in Gustafsson’s decision to return to his original
weight class following a loss to Fabricio
Werdum at heavyweight in July 2020.
“Wherever we went, the local fans asked him to return to his
original weight,” Nascimento told Sherdog.com.
With that, Gustafsson is scheduled to return to action at 205
pounds against Nikita
Krylov at UFC London on July 23.
“Returning to Europe will be amazing for him,” Nascimento said.
“It’s really interesting how Gustafsson is motivated by the new
generation. Besides being the biggest name in Swedish MMA, Alex is
an idol for the whole new generation who train with us today. And
not only in Sweden, his historical fights with Jon Jones and
Daniel
Cormier and the fact that he already beaten Glover [Teixeira]
and [Jan] Blachowicz, certainly would give him a quick patch back
to the top if he beats Nikita and two other opponents.”
Nascimento says that people come from all over Europe to train with
the likes of Gustafsson and Chimaev. Among those who have made
frequent stops at Allstars Training Center is recently-crowned
light heavyweight champion Jiri
Prochazka.
“He did his last camp before signing with the UFC here with us and
there was a historical sparring [session] between him and Chimaev,
where they were both trying to kill each other. Everyone here in
the gym always recalls that crazy sparring,” Nascimento says.
According to the Brazilian coach, Chimaev is really anxious for the
UFC to book his next fight.
“Since he is currently weighing (210 pounds), I advised him to
fight someone from middleweight in August, and then return to
welterweight in October,” Nascimento said. “Since [Derek] Brunson
already defeated Darren Till,
he liked that possibility, but everything will depend on the UFC’s
decision. If the UFC gets Nate Diaz for
August and Belal
Muhammad for October, he will be ready. What he wants most is
to stay active.”