Javier Mendez (born September 18, 1970) is a
Mexican American mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA) coach and founder of the MMA Gym
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). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent trainers ...
(AKA). A former ISKA
kickboxing World Champion, he is best known for training multiple MMA world champions.
History
Javier Mendez was born in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
with his family at the age of 6. He was raised in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
and attended
Andrew Hill High School.
His father spent most of his money on alcohol and gambling and told Mendez that he would never amount to anything which gave Mendez motivation to achieve success.
Like most of his peers of his generation, Mendez grew up admiring the late
Bruce Lee.
Mendez started training in
martial arts in 1978, studying the discipline of
Tang Soo Do
Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art
based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...
. From there, he went to West Coast Tae Kwon Do and trained under
Scott Coker
Scott Coker (born October 3, 1962) is an American mixed martial artist, Taekwondoin, former movie stuntman, and combat sports promoter. He is the founder and former CEO of MMA promotion Strikeforce and the current President of Bellator MMA.
Bac ...
(former CEO of
Strikeforce
Strike Force may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game
*'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game
*'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game
*''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
and current president of
Bellator MMA).
Mendez started his kickboxing career in 1985 and shortly thereafter he established the
American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) where he held training sessions with a small group of students.
After fighting his way through the kickboxing ranks, Mendez won his first world championship in 1992 when he became the
ISKA
The ISKA (originally International Sport Karate Association, later also called the International Sport Kickboxing Association) is one of the major international bodies regulating sport karate and kickboxing matches, and is based in the United ...
Light-Cruiserweight Champion. In 1995, Mendez defeated
Conrad Pla
Conrad Pla (born October 24, 1966) is a Canadian actor and former professional kickboxer. He is best known for founding Tristar Gym and starring in the Canadian television series ''ReGenesis''.
Early life
Pla was born in Madrid and moved to Can ...
(founder of
Tristar Gym) via split decision to win the vacant ISKA Light Heavyweight Championship.
In 1996, Mendez became exposed to
Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
(MMA), when local UFC fighter
Brian Johnston sought out Mendez to help him improve his kickboxing ability. That exposure led other fighters like to seek out Mendez as he rode the wave of MMA's growing popularity. Going forward Mendez stopped competing professionally as a fighter to become a full-time MMA coach.
Mendez would train his first UFC champion in 1997, when
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) an ...
joined AKA. Mendez would be his trainer until 2003 where during that period Shamrock became the first UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and had remained undefeated.
Due to hearing about this successful partnership,
BJ Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American G ...
joined AKA in 2001 in preparation of his MMA career debut and would eventually become UFC champion in both the
Lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight ...
and
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
divisions.
In 2015, Mendez became the only trainer to have 3 concurrent UFC Champions (Cain Velasquez at
heavyweight, Daniel Cormier at
light heavyweight and Luke Rockhold at
middleweight).
Notable fighters trained
Mixed martial arts
*
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) an ...
(former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
, former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, former
WEC Light Heavyweight Champion, Interim
King of Pancrase)
*
Maurice Smith (former
UFC Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
)
*
BJ Penn
Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American G ...
(former
UFC Lightweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
and
UFC Welterweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
)
*
Cung Le
Cung Le ( vi, Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972) is a Vietnamese-born American actor, retired mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. He competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record ...
(former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion)
*
Cain Velasquez
Caín Ramirez Velasquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ...
(former two time
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
Heavyweight champion)
*
Daniel Cormier
Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, amateur wrestler, and current commentator for the UFC. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Ch ...
(former
UFC Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
, former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
, former
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion)
*
Luke Rockhold
Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...
(former
UFC Middleweight Champion, former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion)
*
Josh Thomson
Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, ...
(former
Strikeforce Lightweight Champion)
*
Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...
(former
UFC Lightweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
)
*
Islam Makhachev
Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (russian: Исла́м Рамаза́нович Маха́чев; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former Sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in ...
(current
UFC Lightweight Champion
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
)
*
Usman Nurmagomedov
Usman Nurmagomedov (born April 17, 1998), is a Russian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Lightweight World Champion. He has previously competed in the UAE Warri ...
(current
Bellator Lightweight Champion)
Others
*
Herschel Walker (former professional
football player, 1982
Heisman Trophy winner)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Javier
1970 births
Living people
Mixed martial arts trainers
American male kickboxers
Mexican sportsmen
Mexican emigrants to the United States