A Month On, Chute Boxe Renames Its Gym for Allan Nascimento

A month after UFC flyweight Allan Nascimento was found dead in his sleep from an apparent heart attack on Aug. 3 at the age of 34, his gym is making sure his name never leaves the building. Diego Lima, who coached Nascimento from the age of 14, is renaming his São Paulo operation from the Diego Lima Institute to the Allan Nascimento Institute — a permanent tribute to a fighter who was far more than a student.

Nascimento went 22-7 across his career with a 16-submission grappling base, and he fought six times inside the UFC. He was on a four-fight win streak — including performance-bonus finishes over Carlos Hernandez and Cody Durden — before dropping a split decision to Mitch Raposo this past June. That defeat now stands as the final line on his record.

Lima said he hasn't gone a single day without crying, and told MMA Fighting he'll say Nascimento's name for as long as he lives. The two were business partners as well as coach and athlete: Nascimento co-managed several fighters and shared Lima's management email account. The plan was for Nascimento to keep fighting into his 40s, then take over the business when Lima retired. That timeline, Lima said quietly, has changed.

An Example, On the Mats and Off

The tributes from Chute Boxe teammates all landed on the same word: example. UFC bantamweight Norma Dumont described a man with impeccable conduct who represented discipline, honor and integrity, and said the loss had pulled the whole team tighter rather than apart. Middleweight Marco Tulio called him a man of principle — the first to tell you when you were doing something wrong, and the kind who led by doing.

Elves Brener remembered Nascimento as a fixture in his corner, someone who taught him about life as much as fighting, and admitted that saying Nascimento's name after a win is something stuck in the throat of everyone at the gym. Prospect Apollo Gomes, who once flew to Las Vegas to corner Nascimento, is scheduled to compete for a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender Series on Sept. 8. Gomes said he intends to bring that deal home for both of them.

For Lima, the grief is still raw and the questions are still open. A man of strong faith, he said he's searching for reasons and leaning on the same strength Nascimento always gave him. What he wants most, he explained, is the certainty that there's a heaven — and that his friend is in it. Until then, the gym carries the name, and the team carries the standard he set.