Khamzat Chimaev and former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson are easily the most well-known fighters from the AllStars Training Center.
Coach Andreas Michael recently shared high praise for one of his lesser-known fighters, unranked lightweight Guram Kutateladze, who he claimed takes training just as seriously as UFC’s No.3-ranked welterweight.
Speaking on his self-titled YouTube channel, Chimaev stated:
“Competition everyday with Guram. It makes you better and better. He wants to do more than me. I want to do more than him.”
Validating Chimaev’s claims, Michael added:
“The both of them, they’re very competitive. Guram does one, Khamzat comes like, ‘I’ll do one more,’ now Guram does one more, then Khamzat does one more. I’m sitting there like, ‘Guys, can we please go home?’ It’s like we’re here for like 40 minutes now, and everyone wants to do one more. One more, one more, one more.”
Kutateladze is set to face Thiago Moises on the preliminary card of UFC 283. While he is 12-3 in his career, he is coming off his first loss since 2015. The unranked lightweight will look to utilize his intense training to get back into the win column.
Watch Khamzat Chimaev and coach Andreas Michael discuss Guram Kutateladze’s intensity during training below (starting at the 7:45 mark):
Khamzat Chimaev accuses fighters of avoiding him
Khamzat Chimaev has set his sights high since joining the UFC, as he has consistently called out some of the best fighters on the roster.
While there was some fairness to the idea that he didn’t earn an opportunity for some of the fights he targeted, his UFC 273 victory over Gilbert Burns changed that. The No.3-ranked welterweight recently claimed that despite his rise in the rankings, fighters are still avoiding him.
Speaking on his self-titled YouTube channel, Chimaev stated:
“Nobody wants to fight. F**k these boys. They give me different opponents, nobody wants to fight… Gonna fight somebody, I don’t know who, they change the opponents all day, all the time. Every week I have new opponents, but nobody wants to fight. The guys speak a lot of trash talk, a lot of s**t about me and ‘I want to fight you.’ When it comes to the fight and signing the contract, everyone runs away.”
Chimaev recently called out middleweight champion Alex Pereira as one of the fighters that are avoiding him. However, he is unlikely to get a title shot at middleweight.
While the No.3-ranked welterweight has not entered the octagon since UFC 279, he is seemingly ready to take a fight as soon as he has an opponent.
Watch Khamzat Chimaev discuss potential opponents avoiding him below (starting at the 2:12 mark):