Chute Boxe’s Allan Nascimento Targets Spot in Flyweight Top 15 by End of 2023

UFC 125-pounder Allan Nascimento may not have had the most traditional path to the UFC, but he intends on making his stay count.

The 31-year-old nicknamed “Puro Osso” trains at the vaunted Chute Boxe camp helmed by coach Diego Lima, famously dying his hair blonde in support of teammate Charles Oliveira in the past. Nascimento (19-6) will be squaring off against fellow Dana White's Contender Series vet Carlos Hernandez (8-1) at UFC Fight Night 217 on Jan. 14. A submission specialist by trade, with 13 of his 19 career victories coming by tapout, he is well-prepared for an opponent that celebrates all of his own finishes by sub. Nascimento spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming matchup, and also discussed what has brought him to this point.

“Carlos Hernandez is my next opponent,” Nascimento stated. “He’s on a great winning streak. He won his Contender Series bout as well as his UFC debut. I feel he’s a complete fighter. He’s very dangerous. But I’m very ready for this fight. I’ll be a completely different Allan in the Octagon. I feel it’s going to be a good fight for everyone watching. I’m confident I’ll walk away with a victory.”

A lifelong member of the Chute Boxe team, Nascimento is trained for wherever the fight may take him. A recent promotion to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu bolstered the Brazilian’s confidence even further. Feeling on top of the world, Nascimento believes that this is truly his best training camp, and that he will earn the win by stoppage.

“Everyone knows I belong to Chute Boxe Diego Lima,” the flyweight explained. “I’ve always belonged to Chute Boxe. I’ve always trained in their style. Our head coach is Diego Lima. Alireza Noei is our wrestling coach from Iran. The only outside training I do is with jiu-jitsu master Marco Barbosa. He just promoted me to black belt. Hopefully that will give me that extra push to score my next win. My training partners at Chute Boxe are Daniel Santos, Charles Oliveira, Daniel da Silva and Felipe Efrain. We have a very strong team here. Without a doubt, my preparations have been great during this fight camp.”

Nascimento will come into this pairing against Hernandez on the heels of his first UFC victory, one he claimed in May by decision over Jake Hadley. The Brazilian made his first appearance on a major stage several years prior, first stepping into the spotlight with a trip to Rizin Fighting Federation in 2016, only to fall short to UFC vet Yuki Motoya. Nascimento turned things around to get a call to the Brazilian season of DWCS, but that did not go his way either.

“In 2018, I fought Raulian Paiva at Dana White’s Contender Series. I ended up losing by split decision. After that, I had a knee surgery and required some time off. That’s when the coronavirus pandemic started, adding to my time away from the cage,” Nascimento remarked.

A one-off quick victory in a small organization in Sao Paulo, Brazil, catapulted Nascimento back into the focus of matchmakers and recruiters. The rear-naked choke of Elivaldo Lima Martins in 2021 proved to be the tipping point to a callup to the big leagues.

“Thankfully, I came back with a submission victory on the Punho de Aco promotion,” a relieved Nascimento expressed. “I signed my UFC contract and fought Tagir Ulanbekov on my debut. It was another split decision loss. It was a questionable result, in my opinion.”

While the lion’s share of scoring media members awarded the victory to Ulanbekov at UFC 267, a large contingent of fans posited that Nascimento had pulled off the win. Nascimento was not one-and-done with the promotion, and stepped in nearly seven months later against British submission artist Hadley.

“Next, I got to face Jake Hadley. He’s really good and was undefeated at that time. I knew I had to put in more effort to win by a good margin,” Nascimento admitted. “I won every round. It was a unanimous win. Things are back on the right track. I’m doing great, training for this next fight. I’m feeling very happy with this moment in my life, and being in the UFC.”

The adjustment Nascimento made following the razor-close defeat to Ulanbekov proved to be enough to upset the Englishman known as “White Kong.” Believing that judges favored Ulanbekov due to top control time, Nascimento made certain that he would not allow that to happen again.

“The bout against Ulanbekov was very active on the ground. I ended up losing a split decision,” he lamented. “In my opinion, he had a home advantage. Most people I talked to thought I won. But he had top control. So maybe that was my mistake, to have my back against the mat for too long. That’s what I changed when I next fought Hadley. If I ever find myself in that situation, I look for a sweep so I can take top position. I’m starting to better understand the scoring criteria used in the UFC.”

Nascimento knows that he cannot look past his adversary, one that has strung together eight straight wins since his unsuccessful professional debut. Fully expecting to take home the victory, the Brazilian is not considering calling out big names in the division quite yet. Instead, he wants to make sure the UFC will feel compelled to keep him on the roster, as his first contract ends following his fourth UFC appearance. After that, according to him, the sky is the limit.

“I take things one step at a time,” Nascimento concluded. “Of course, we have much loftier goals. This is the third bout on my UFC contract. I have one more to go. My work now is focused on getting my contract renewed. After that, I’d like to face ranked opponents, to be ranked myself, and showcase my work and the name Allan ‘Puro Osso.’ By the end of 2023, I’d like to make it into the top 15.”