Javier Mendez News

Cole Shelton - January 11, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is back. Velasquez is set to return to the Octagon on Feb. 17 against Francis Ngannou. The former champ was last seen at UFC 200 where he defeated Travis Browne by TKO in the first round. Despite this lengthy absence, he is once again on the hunt for the heavyweight belt.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has long planned to retire in March of 2019, when he turns 40. From the sounds of it, however, the champ might just delay his retirement plans as fights Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, and Stipe Miocic all loom on the horizon. UFC President Dana White recently said that he’d like to see Daniel Cormier delay his retirement plans to allow time for some of these fights. According to Cormier’s long-time coach Javier Mendez, it’s very possible that the UFC boss gets his way.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Javier Mendez, who serves as the head coach at American Kickboxing Academy in Fresno, California, has had a huge year. He shepherded Khabib Nurmagomedov to a lightweight title win and a successful title defense against Conor McGregor. He helped Daniel Cormier become one of just two fighters in UFC history to wear UFC belts in two weight classes concurrently. He guided dozens of other fighters to victories on the sport’s biggest stages. In the opinion of the UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov, these accomplishments should earn Javier Mendez Coach of the Year honors for the year 2018.

Drake Riggs - November 2, 2018

“There’s contract negotiations going on that I’m not privileged to know. But I do know that other organizations are interested in buying Cain [Velasquez’s] contract. It’s for sale, I do know that because I was told that from somebody that’s in the know. That they were offered money to buy Cain’s contract but what’s going on, I don’t know.

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2018

This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 229, undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his title opposite former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. While Khabib Nurmagomedov has faced some strong opposition in the past, such as Rafael dos Anjos, Michael Johnson, and Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor is easily the most dangerous opponent he’s faced over the course of his 26-fight career. The Russian’s head coach, Javier Mendez, is well aware of this fact.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov has long been considered one of the best lightweights in the world, but for a time between 2014 and 2016, his standing in the division was seriously hurt by his inability to stay healthy. During that period, Khabib Nurmagomedov was scheduled for three fights — two with Donald Cerrone, and one with Tony Ferguson. Unfortunately, not one of these bouts came to fruition as the Russian star kept sustaining injuries that rendered him unable to compete.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2018

On October 6, in the main event of UFC 229, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his title against former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Given that Conor McGregor is one of the most feared strikers in UFC history, many fans and pundits feel Khabib Nurmagomedov would be wise to use his world-class wrestling early on. Nurmagomedov’s head coach Javier Mendez shares this opinion — although he’s not confident Nurmagomedov will do so. The Russian champion, after all, often deviates from the intended game plan in his fights. And while this can occasionally be frustrating for Mendez, he maintains that it’s okay so long as Nurmagomedov keeps winning.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

The UFC 229 press conference, which featured UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his upcoming opponent Conor McGregor, produced all of the trash talk and saber-rattling we anticipated. Most of that trash talk, of course, came from McGregor, who is as known for his gift of gab as he is for his fistic proficiency. While Conor McGregor is infamous for his trash talk, many fans feel he crossed some lines at this UFC 229 press conference, as he targeted Nurmagomedov’s entourage, his family, and even his religion.

Tom Taylor - September 6, 2018

In December of 2015, in the co-main event of UFC 194, Luke Rockhold stepped into the cage with Chris Weidman in hopes of capturing the UFC middleweight title. On that night, Rockhold succeeded on his mission, defeating Weidman by fourth round TKO. On November 3 of this year, on the main card of UFC 230 in New York City, Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman will fight again. This time around, there will be no title on the line, but the winner will be within sprinting distance of a middleweight title shot.

Tom Taylor - September 6, 2018

Last week, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones stated that he hopes to fight his arch rival Daniel Cormier twice more before they both hang up the gloves for good. In the opinion of Daniel Cormier’s head coach Javier Mendez, however, Cormier does not need to fight Jones again. Having captured the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles, his legacy is already secure — even without settling his score with Jones.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2018

As the home of current and former champions like Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Cain Velasquez and Luke Rockhold, American Kickboxing Academy is one of the very best MMA gyms in the world. It might even be the best in the world outright. If there has ever been a reason to knock the gym, however, it’s that, for a time, their fighters just couldn’t seem to stay healthy. On multiple occasions in the past, AKA’s top stars have been forced out of massive fights with injuries — oftentimes at the very last minute. This trend, unsurprisingly, did not go over well with fight fans, who understandably wanted to see AKA’s top dogs in action.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2018

For many years, Luke Rockhold was one of the most visible and successful fighters training out of American Kickboxing Academy, and a crucial training partner to both Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez. Over the last year or so, however, Rockhold has done much of his training elsewhere. The former middleweight champion even did some training at Combat Club in Florida at a time when Volkan Oezdemir was using the gym to prepare for a fight with Cormier. All the same, you will not be hearing of any drama between Luke Rockhold and American Kickboxing Academy.