The martial arts journey of Russian star Magomed Ankalaev took shape when he started training in Greco-Roman wrestling while studying at Dagestan State University. Hence, that was an essential part of his eventual journey into the world of mixed martial arts, and since he became a pro in 2014, ‘Russian Terror’ has now reached the biggest stage in the sport, the UFC.

However, it’s never an easy road in the world of combat sports, and unsurprisingly, Ankalaev had a lot of help. This assistance was in the form of coaches and teammates. Hence, ahead of his UFC 313 title clash against Alex Pereira, we’ll take a look at the people behind the light heavyweight contender’s rise in mixed martial arts.

Where does Magomed Ankalaev train? Gym and coach

Since the beginning of his endeavors in MMA, Magomed Ankalaev has trained with only one team – Fight Club Akhmat. Founded by the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, FC Akhmat has produced great UFC talents such as Khamzat Chimaev, with former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum training in the gym during his active fighting career as well.

Ankalaev trained under coaches Sukhrab Magomedov and Alibatyrov Shamil in Russia, but he has another team that he trains with whenever he’s in the West. Yes, the 32-year-old trains with Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture for his UFC fights in the United States of America. Ankalaev has shared several moments and snaps from his training sessions at Xtreme Couture on social media.

Although he’s had some great teammates that he trains within the borders of his native country, Magomed Ankalaev has even more world-class teammates in the States. Moreover, he has sparred even with former champions like Sean Strickland. “He always wants to spar for some reason. He is energetic, he’s a good guy [and] he’s always been nice to me. That’s all I can say about him,” Ankalaev told ‘The Schmo’ about ‘Tarzan’. Meanwhile, being from Makhachkala, some fans wondered if the light heavyweight contender ever trained with ‘The Eagle’ Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, the duo never crossed paths.

Magomed Ankalaev gets a taunt for not training with Khabib

UFC 313’s headliner has been called a striker vs wrestler contest, and Alex Pereira is fully aware of that and has worked on his ground more than ever ahead of the fight this weekend. But as we all know, Dagestani fighters are touted as the best on-the-ground fighters the sport of MMA has ever seen, but former UFC fighter Dan Hardy doesn’t think Magomed Ankalaev, who he believes has a better striking game, is on the same level as Khabib Nurmagomedov in the wrestling department. That’s purely because he’s not a part of ‘The Eagle’s team.

“It might just be our ignorance and assumptions as MMA fans… we go, ‘Oh, well, he’s from Dagestan, so he’s definitely going to wrestle,” Dan Hardy stated on the Submission Radio podcast. “He’s a striker. He doesn’t train with Khabib and the heavy wrestling crew. I mean, first of all, he’s a lot bigger than those guys anyway, but the vast majority of his game is based on his striking, and he is a very, very good striker.”

Well, Magomed Ankalaev has the odds stacked against him since he’ll be fighting on Ramadan. Preparing for the fight has been a real hard task, but UFC title shots are hard to come by and Ankalaev didn’t want to miss this chance. Do you think he’ll be able to take the crown from Alex Pereira this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.