UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev’s coach Alan Nascimento believes he could pursue his dream of competing at the Olympics.

On Saturday night, Khamzat Chimaev will defend the UFC middleweight championship for the first time. He will go head to head with Sean Strickland, a former champion in his own right, and it’s safe to say that emotions have been boiling over in recent weeks.

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The two have exchanged their fair share of words over social media and in interviews, but in just a few short days, none of that will matter when the cage door shuts behind them. For Chimaev, this is a chance to really prove that he deserves to hold the gold, despite his inactivity.

As it turns out, according to his coach Alan Nascimento, this could be the beginning of an entirely new journey for Chimaev.

Chimaev’s coach on Olympic dreams

“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.”

“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.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

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