Sergei Pavlovich’s gym and coaches: Did he train with Khabib Nurmagomedov at AKA?

The heavyweight division carries a lot of (literal and figurative) weight in any martial art. In no other division is the risk of getting knocked out so high as in heavyweight. It is no coincidence that Derrick Lewis, a heavyweight, has the record for the most knockouts in the UFC. And recently, another heavyweight has come into the limelight with a string of knockouts, Sergei Pavlovich, who has made waves in the MMA world.

3rd-ranked UFC heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich has knocked out the last six of his seven opponents in the first round before missing out on the interim title at UFC 295 against Tom Aspinall, who knocked him out. Now, he is now gearing up for his fight against Alexander Volkov this weekend. Known for his devastating power and striking skills, the Russian used to train with the same coach as GOAT contender Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Sergei Pavlovich was trained by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach

Sergei Pavlovich has trained at the American Kickboxing Academy – home to UFC champions like Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Islam Makhachev. He has shown how impressive he can really be just like the successful fighters that emerged from that gym, and even AKA head coach Javier Mendez confirmed that Pavlovich’s power is not something to sleep on.

“I used to enjoy watching him [Pavlovich] go with Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier because Daniel would kind of like play with him, take him down – only in the wrestling. Nobody could play with him in the standup,” Javier Mendez told Red Corner MMA.

Now, Sergei Pavlovich currently trains as a part of Eagles MMA Moscow, a team that was established by none other than Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2016, alongside Russian business magnate, Ziyavudin Magomedov. Hence, Pavlovich never left touch with ‘The Eagle’ after all. The heavyweight star even shared some interesting words about Nurmagomedov’s coaching style because, like Islam Makhachev and the others, he also had a taste of it.

What did Sergei Pavlovich say about ‘The Eagle’?

In an interview given last year to the YouTube channel Ushatayka, Pavlovich opened up about what it was like to train under Nurmagomedov and former two-division UFC champion and UFC commentator Daniel Cormier at their American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) gym.

The title contender spoke highly of ‘The Eagle’ and Cormier. He credited the latter for keeping everyone’s spirits high in the grueling environment of AKA with his characteristic joviality and for his advice. “Khabib was the captain of our team, so I came to AKA. Daniel Cormier is a cheerful, funny guy. Everyone was always tired after training, but he remained cheerful. DC gave me some advice,” he said.

Sergei Pavlovich felt Nurmagomedov was their leader, instilling discipline in them and having a keen eye and consummate understanding of the sport. “Khabib is very disciplined, hardworking guy. He understands and observes everything perfectly,” Pavlovich said in his native Russian. But besides Nurmagomedov, who are the other teammates of Pavlovich? Let’s find out.

Who are the UFC heavyweight’s teammates at AKA?

We already know that AKA has produced some top-tier MMA talents like the aforementioned Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and the Dagstani duo of Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov. But guess what? Sergei Pavlovich has a few other world-class fighters as teammates, too. The list includes Zubaira Tukhugov, who has a 20-6-1 record, former UFC champion Luke Rockhold, and Jon Fitch, just to name, a few.

On the other side, when we look at Sergei Pavlovich’s teammates in Eagles MMA Moscow, the UFC heavyweight star’s team includes some veteran Russian MMA fighters. Movlid Khaybulaev, Akhmed Aliev, and Makkasharip Zaynukov are a few top-tier Russian fighters who fought in more than a dozen fights in their professional fighting career.

Having great teammates is always a bonus and we’ll have to wait and see if Sergei Pavlovich can bounce back from his loss against Tom Aspinall in the upcoming fight against Alexander Volkov. What do you predict for the fight in Saudi Arabia? Drop your comments below.