UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev signed with RAF to test his wrestling skills later this year, and it appears that this side quest could open a door for far more challenging tests down the line.
Only 20 athletes have fought in the UFC after competing at the Olympics, and Chimaev’s coach Alan “Finfou” Nascimento told MMA Fighting his protégé could become the first to try the opposite route and wrestle for an Olympic medal after claiming UFC gold.
The Chechen fighter now has an United Arab Emirates
citizenship, and his coach doesn’t rule out trying to earn a spot at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Maybe with these wrestling camps he can make the national team and even try for the Olympics like several other guys from Chechnya, who naturalized elsewhere and became Olympic champions in Paris, for example,” Nascimento said. “These are possibilities, and if you’re going to dream, it costs nothing. He has my full support. It’s been part of his dream since he was a kid. He started in wrestling, then moved into MMA and everything, but I see it as a long-standing passion, a childhood dream.”
Qualifying for the Olympics would require Chimaev to enter and win bigger tournaments representing U.A.E., and doing so while competing in the UFC could be a hard ask. Nascimento wouldn’t rule out at least trying that route, though.
“If he gets the opportunity and is truly willing to pay the price for it, go for it,” Nascimento said. “Have faith, work hard, and go. He’s already a champion in the biggest fighting organization in the world. I can’t think of another sport that demands as much from athletes. If you can reach that level in this sport, I believe that in anything else, if you really want it and it’s your dream, no sacrifice will feel too big.”
Chimaev will defend his UFC middleweight title Saturday, headlining UFC 328 against former champion Sean Strickland on May 9. RAF has yet to announce his debut match, but “Finfou” said the UFC star will train with two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev for that.
“I don’t think it’s impossible,” Nascimento said of Chimaev’s Olympic dream. “Will he become a champion? I don’t know. But for him to make the U.A.E. national team and compete in the Olympics, that’s something that’s definitely more achievable than many other things. We have the connections to make it happen. We know that.”
The jiu-jitsu coach said Chimaev’s deal with RAF will “really help improve my side of his MMA career” because his technique will be “much sharper than it is now.”
“His future opponents are going to have an even harder time defending takedowns,” Nascimento laughed. “I just wish it had happened before this fight.”
Strickland has been taken down 15 times during his 17-7 career in the UFC, going 3-4 in bouts where he was taken down. Chimaev has in wrestling his biggest weapon, collecting 26 takedowns in nine UFC appearances — nearly half of those (12) came in his title-winning performance against Dricus Du Plessis in 2025.
“It’s a very tricky style to find someone in the gym who can replicate,” Nascimento said of Strickland’s game. “That’s where I see him causing the most problems and difficulties for his opponents. Because overall, he doesn’t really change much. His performances are pretty similar in most fights. Obviously, he got a quick finish against ‘Fluffy’ last time, but in general, from a more superficial perspective since we’re not in there actually feeling him, I don’t think his game itself has changed that much.”
For Nascimento, the secret to Strickland’s takedown defense is “a combination of things,” but doesn’t mean it’s impenetrable.
“We can’t take anything away from him in that regard,” Nascimento said. “But at the same time he hasn’t fought anyone in this division whose main game is taking people down, someone with Chimaev’s level of wrestling. He hasn’t faced that caliber yet. Everyone he’s fought has played into his style, standing and trading while he pressures forward. A lot of the time he just wants to touch his opponent so they can’t do anything to him. Sometimes he throws strikes that aren’t powerful, but they completely change the situation. That’s how he avoids takedowns, lifting the knee to prevent entries. I also think a lot of fighters struggle to close the distance on him. That was one of the things we worked on a lot in this camp.”
