Thailand has become one of the hottest destinations in the fight world.
With “supergyms” popping up across the country, quality food readily available, and favorable weather year-round, many fighters are taking the opportunity to travel to the home of Muay Thai, either as a vacation spot or to fully immerse themselves in a fight camp.
UFC veteran Mike Swick, a cast member from Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter and now the owner of AKA Thailand, has seen many of the UFC’s biggest names make the trip to his gym in recent years to train.
One fighter Swick has yet to host, however, is his former AKA teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. According to Swick, Khabib’s late father and longtime mentor was firmly against the idea, and “The Eagle” is therefore unlikely to ever bring his team to Thailand.
“Khabib's father always had an issue with him coming to Thailand because it was a distraction,” Swick told Red Corner MMA. “So I don't think Khabib's ever going to come. We do get a lot of Dagestan guys that come to Thailand, but for some reason his family didn't want that distraction when he was in his career.
“If you look at the old (social media) posts from AKA Thailand from the very beginning when it was (under) construction, you'll see Khabib liked (some of them). He was watching. He was following everything that I was doing. So he definitely took inspiration when he was young in his career that I was building this big gym in Thailand. But he never got to come.”
Khabib and his team, which includes current UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev and Khabib’s cousins Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov, have become known for their singular focus and relentless work ethic in the training room, whether at AKA in San Jose or back home in Dagestan.
Swick believes that mentality may not be well suited to the lifestyle Thailand offers.
“I mean, part of the island here is kind of like a tourist party area, and so it's easy to get drawn into the party scene,” Swick said. “Go out and have fun. A lot of these guys do it here and that's why they don't make it and become fighters.
“You're very disciplined. In San Jose, it's very easy to be disciplined. There's not nightclubs and distractions everywhere. Here, you have to be very, very disciplined because there's a lot of distractions. A lot of people want you to go out every night.”
