Issue 126
March 2015
Andreas Michael is best known as Alexander Gustafsson’s head coach, but the former Swedish Olympic boxing team head honcho is building much more than just one UFC title contender in the backstreets of Stockholm
LEADING MAN
ANDREAS MICHAEL
Allstars Training Center head coach
Whenever Alexander Gustafsson enters a press conference, a gym mat or even the Octagon, one man is ever present; Andreas Michael. Gustafsson’s head coach is also a trusted confidant, mentor and, above all else, friend to the UFC light heavyweight title contender. But Gustafsson is one of many fighters under Michael’s guidance.
Head coach at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden, Michael is known as ‘The General’ in his home gym and boasts an array of prime fighting talent under his tutelage. Prospects who, over the past 18 months, made a remarkable impact on the planet’s elite promotions.
A former Swedish national Olympic boxing team head coach, Michael first got into MMA when members of Stockholm Shoot team started attending his boxing gym for pad sessions. To help them further develop their striking technique, Michael entered them into a couple of amateur fights and realized how hard the MMA guys were working.
It piqued his interest, although he admits he was a little apprehensive at first. “When I first walked into Stockholm Shoot I would watch the guys rolling around on the floor and wrestling and would think, ‘What are you doing? Stand up and fight.’ I had no appreciation for what was happening back then. I was a boxing coach and to me a fight was on your feet.
“But then, of course, over time you start to understand the mechanics behind it. You see how much technique and skill goes into ground fighting and grappling. That’s how I got more and more interested in this sport. But it was all initially because I saw how driven, dedicated and loyal the guys were.”
Under Michael’s guidance the handful of Stockholm Shoot fighters shone in the boxing ring. “They were novices in boxing but they were beating high level opponents. These guys were facing guys who had 30-40 fights in boxing and they were winning fights. In fact, very few of my MMA guys lost boxing matches.” The attitude and commitment of the “MMA guys” back then was enough to convince Michael to switch codes for good.
At the end of 2012, Michael and star pupil and UFC light heavyweight contender Gustafsson set up Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, a 1,000-square meter facility designed to breed champions. And the results have been astounding.
In its first full year Allstars hardly missed a beat. While Gustafsson was pushing Jon Jones to the limit in his first UFC title match, the rest of the team was clocking up wins on the international, European and domestic circuit. Losses were very few and far between.
Michael, Gustafsson and indeed Allstars also developed their long-standing alliance with San Diego gym Alliance MMA. They utilized the very best of the California roster, coaches and facilities when they were the US, and returned the favor when members of the US camp are in Europe. It’s a relationship that has continued to blossom.
“Allstars and Alliance MMA are a team together. We continue to work closely with those guys and we support one another,” Michael says. “We all train, work and spar together on both sides of the Atlantic. And guys are going backwards and forwards to do seminars and training camps. They really are a great team over there, and we have a great team here also.
“The work ethic at Alliance mirrors what we do at Allstars. We have the same mind-set. You have to work together to achieve all you can. Strengths of one gym aren’t necessarily the strengths of another. But when everybody is working together, to develop each individual athlete rather than someone’s ego, that’s how champions are made.”
But it’s not all been a bed of roses though. Allstars suffered their first real low point in their short but wildly successful run when when the UFC held their annual pilgrimage to Stockholm in 2014. Just one fighter from the camp managed to register a victory on the entire card. Rising middleweight Magnus Cedenblad was just one of two Swedish fighters to register a “W” in front of the home fans.
Disastrously, all three Allstars on the main card suffered knockout defeats. Niklas Backstrom, Ilir Latifi and Akira Corassani all failed to survive opening-round onslaughts. Michael admits it was the first real low point in the gym’s existence.
Gustafsson spoke out afterwards in defense of the gym amongst a tidal wave a criticism, mostly from home shores. Michael admits it was a surprise to receive such a backlash, but mirrored Alexander’s sentiments in saying the gym and it’s UFC athletes would bounce back.
“This is fighting, sometimes you have a bad night. It’s just unfortunate that so many of the team were caught by punches on that occasion. It was very unusual for that to happen all at once, but we learned from it and all those guys, like when Alex fought Jon Jones, we learnt more in defeat than we would have done in victory.”
As for the future, well, as Europe continues to strive to secure its first UFC champion since Bas Rutten almost 16 years ago, Michael and the Allstars team are perhaps as close as any gym across the Atlantic in securing Zuffa gold.
And with more and more fighters walking through the doors every week, the future of Swedish MMA is filled with stars.
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