Coach speak: The real story behind Khamzat Chimaev’s second-hand shortsSayan NagFeb 19, 2026Khamzat Chimaevhad to part with his lucky shorts after joining theUltimate Fighting Championship.Chimaev’s (15-0) longtime grappling coach, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, recently recalled giving his fighter a pair of shorts that would stay with him for a long time. “Finfou” gave Chimaev his own shorts ahead of his amateur debut againstKhaled Laallamin 2017. While Nascimento wanted his shorts back if Chimaev lost, the future UFC champion was certain that he would win. Chimaev washed the shorts and hung them up to dry before sewing a patch of his coach’s logo on them.Chimaev went on to submit his opponent in the first round with a brabo choke. Chimaev’s talent was evident in his first fight, and “Borz” turned pro the following year after two more amateur wins. “Finfou” recalls that Chimaev used to wear the same pair of shorts for every fight before he entered the UFC. Chimaev was inactive for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic when his manager suddenly secured a UFC contract for a short-notice debut at Fight Island. Chimaev could never wear his lucky shorts again, as the UFC doesn’t allow fighters to wear personal kits.“I gave him the shorts and I said to him, ‘If you win you keep, if you lose, you give me back.’ Then he said to me, ‘Coach, I would never lose.’... Then he took a patch with my logo and sewed it on the shorts,” Nascimento told MMA Today. “Right when I gave him the shorts, he went to the guys changing room, went to the sink, he washed [the shorts with soap], dried, went and hung it to dry… He went and submitted the guy with a D’Arce… Every fight he would ask for my shorts until the fight with Ikram [Aliskerov]. After that, he was without fighting for nine months. One day after training the manager came to the gym and said, ‘Sign here… You go to Fight Island, you go to UFC.’... And then he couldn’t use my shorts anymore.”
Coach speak: The real story behind Khamzat Chimaev’s second-hand shortsSayan NagFeb 19, 2026
Coach speak: The real story behind Khamzat Chimaev’s second-hand shorts
Khamzat Chimaevhad to part with his lucky shorts after joining theUltimate Fighting Championship.Chimaev’s (15-0) longtime grappling coach, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento, recently recalled giving his fighter a pair of shorts that would stay with him for a long time. “Finfou” gave Chimaev his own shorts ahead of his amateur debut againstKhaled Laallamin 2017. While Nascimento wanted his shorts back if Chimaev lost, the future UFC champion was certain that he would win. Chimaev washed the shorts and hung them up to dry before sewing a patch of his coach’s logo on them.Chimaev went on to submit his opponent in the first round with a brabo choke. Chimaev’s talent was evident in his first fight, and “Borz” turned pro the following year after two more amateur wins. “Finfou” recalls that Chimaev used to wear the same pair of shorts for every fight before he entered the UFC. Chimaev was inactive for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic when his manager suddenly secured a UFC contract for a short-notice debut at Fight Island. Chimaev could never wear his lucky shorts again, as the UFC doesn’t allow fighters to wear personal kits.“I gave him the shorts and I said to him, ‘If you win you keep, if you lose, you give me back.’ Then he said to me, ‘Coach, I would never lose.’... Then he took a patch with my logo and sewed it on the shorts,” Nascimento told MMA Today. “Right when I gave him the shorts, he went to the guys changing room, went to the sink, he washed [the shorts with soap], dried, went and hung it to dry… He went and submitted the guy with a D’Arce… Every fight he would ask for my shorts until the fight with Ikram [Aliskerov]. After that, he was without fighting for nine months. One day after training the manager came to the gym and said, ‘Sign here… You go to Fight Island, you go to UFC.’... And then he couldn’t use my shorts anymore.”
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