When one contemplates where the best MMA fighters are cultivated, groomed, and conditioned, most people would not consider Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is the most populated city in Swedish kingdom, known as a hotspot for infinite industries, and is a central place for culture, economics, media, and politics. In essence, it is the crown jewel of Scandinavia and vital to the region. Professional blood sports were practically non-existent in the region until recently. At the forefront of this emerging commodity in this Swedish community is the All Stars Training Center.
There are many involved with the All Star franchise, and the man at the center of this training facility is legendary Swedish boxing coach Andreas Michael. Michael made his way to Sweden to study and began to educate boxers. Michael, a former multiple amateur boxing champion and professional pugilist, suffered an arm injury that ended his fighting career. Looking to make his bones as a trainer, Michael began to drill Swedish amateur fighters. It would only take a few years before his coaching potential would be noticed at the national level. This opportunity eventually led Michael to a career as a chief MMA trainer. Speaking from his home base in Stockholm, Michael explicated, "After years of coaching, I created national champions and I was asked to coach the [Swedish] amateur boxing national team. Once I was there, I got [MMA fighters] starting to come in to the club wanting to learn how to strike. I quickly noticed that these guys were in shape; they worked really hard. They would spar with boxers that were more experienced and, yeah, they got their asses kicked, but they kept coming."
Michael added, "I started teaching them the fundamentals of boxing and I saw the quick progress so I thought to myself, 'We really might have something here.' I then started to have training sessions at an MMA club and it started to pull me in more. I also saw that there was less politics in the MMA as compared to boxing: it was easier to mold a MMA fighter and get sponsorship without having to go through all the red tape. MMA just made sense to me."
Although it was easier to advance in the MMA world, Sweden was still not up-to-date as far as blood sports were concerned. There was no professional boxing business to speak of and the MMA infrastructure was in its infancy, at best. Michael saw an opportunity to lay the groundwork and grow the sport in the region. "MMA is popular now and we actually, singlehandedly, made the sport what it is today, here in Sweden," Michael recalled. "Everyone around here was like a free agent, a lot like Las Vegas where everyone trains in like 300 different gyms. I didn't agree with this approach and felt that everyone would be better off if there was a home base for fighters to work out of and bring the talent together."
