American Kickboxing Academy

The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). AKA headquarters is located in South San Jose. In 2014 AKA opened AKA Thailand Gym in Phuket Thailand. Prominent trainers include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Leandro Vieira, Bob Cook, Derek Yuen, Javier Mendez, and Andy Fong. Within the facility, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling and Boxing classes are taught. Additional programs include conditioning and circuit training with TRX Suspension and Combat Circuit. American Kickboxing Academy is one of the top professional MMA training camps. As of March 2, 2020, the AKA roster includes both the #2 and the UFC Lightweight Champion (Khabib Nurmagomedov) and #6 ranked fighter Daniel Cormier in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings.[2]

American Kickboxing Academy
Est.1985
Founded byJavier Mendez[1]
Primary ownersJavier Mendez
Primary trainersJavier Mendez
Bob Cook
Rosendo Sanchez
Leandro Vieira
Daniel Cormier
Current titleholders
Khabib Nurmagomedov (UFC Lightweight Champion)
Prominent fightersDaniel Cormier
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Cain Velasquez
Luke Rockhold
Josh Thomson
Jon Fitch
Training facilitiesSan Jose, California, U.S.
Phuket, Thailand
Websitewww.akakickbox.com

Dispute with the Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 2008, the AKA was involved in a brief dispute with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White over the exclusive license rights for a UFC video game.[3] Members of the AKA who were signed with the UFC, including Jon Fitch, Christian Wellisch, Josh Koscheck, and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, refused to sign an exclusive lifetime contract for their video game likenesses over to the UFC, causing them to be cut from the UFC's roster. Within 24 hours, the dispute was resolved and all fighters signed back into the organization.[4]

AKA has also been criticized by MMA fans and journalists, as well as by Dana White, for what is perceived as an excessively high rate of training injuries leading to fight cancellations among its stable of fighters.[5]

Notable fighters

Mixed martial artists

Current

Strikeforce)

Alumni

Kickboxers

Boxers
  • Ricardo Cortes
  • Matt Jannazzo

Wrestlers

Awards
  • MMAJunkie.com
    • 2015 Gym of the Year[6]
  • CombatPress.com
    • 2018 Gym of the Year[7]

See also
  • List of Top Professional MMA Training Camps

References
  1. "About". American Kickboxing Academy. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  2. "Fighter Rankings | UFC ®". UFC. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  3. "Jon Fitch, Christian Wellisch and possibly others cut by UFC". MMAMania.com. November 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  4. Martin, Damon (November 20, 2008). "24 Hours Later; Jon Fitch Back with UFC". MMAWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  5. "A Gym Culture of Injury? American Kickboxing Academy (AKA)". mmalatestnews.com. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  6. "2015 Gym of the Year". Mmajunkie. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  7. Matthew Petela. "AKA founder and head trainer Javier Mendez put together a run in 2018 that clearly established the American Kickboxing Academy as the premier MMA gym in 2018". CombatPress.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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