Every great fighter needs a good coach to help them grow as a person and as a skilled fighter. They are the ones who will take the most out of their talent and allow them to develop into a world-class athlete.
Firas Zahabi is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and is regarded as one of the wisest coaches in the sport. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and has an analytical approach to training and fighting.
Javier Mendez
Javier Mendez is a former ISKA kickboxing World Champion and founder of the MMA Gym American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). He has been training fighters in MMA since 1996. He has coached multiple champions including UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov and Strikeforce middleweight and light heavyweight champion Luke Rockhold.
He was the coach for future hall of famer Frank Shamrock when he trained at AKA. His fighter never lost a fight while under his tutelage and won the inaugural UFC light heavyweight championship in 2006.
After his retirement from fighting, Javier devoted himself to coaching MMA. He started teaching kickboxing to MMA fighters, which proved to be an effective method for developing their striking skills.
His students included future UFC middleweight champion Cung Le and Strikeforce welterweight Josh Koscheck. He also coached Cain Velasquez, who went on to become the UFC heavyweight champion after defeating Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 with strikes.
In the boxing ring, Javier has been a strong supporter of Jake Paul as he prepares to make a transition into MMA. Mendez, widely regarded as one of the best trainers in the sport, says that he is’sure’ that Paul has what it takes to cut it in the MMA world and adds that he could make a huge impact.
Another fighter who has received the coach’s backing is UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Islam Makhachev. The 31-year-old Dagestani fighter defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in October.
While the fight has yet to take place, Mendez thinks that Makhachev is the best fighter in the world. He does not think that any lightweight or featherweight will be able to beat him.
Firas Zahabi
Firas Zahabi is the head coach of Tristar Gym in Montreal and a black belt under the legendary John Danaher. He is one of the best in the business and has coached some of the most successful MMA and submission grappling stars such as Miguel Torres, Denis Kang, Rory McDonald and Georges Saint Piere.
When it comes to BJJ, there are few people who can match Zahabi’s logical and analytical approach to training. He has a great understanding of how to put together the various techniques in a way that makes sense, so getting any of his instructional DVDs is a smart move.
He is also a big proponent of the idea that fighters need to evolve their styles and strategies regularly in order to win. It’s a theory that has been shown time and again in sport, where high level strikers will only be able to stay at the top of their game if they consistently change up their tactics and strategies.
As the owner of Tristar Gym, Zahabi has a large roster of MMA and submission grappling talent that he has cultivated. His students include Ethan Crelinsten, Oliver Taza and Piere-Olivier Leclerc.
In the UFC, Firas Zahabi has had a huge impact on the career of former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who has won both division titles and holds some of the most important records in MMA history.
When it comes to coaching, he is known for his dedication and willingness to go the extra mile in order to help his athletes succeed. For instance, he will push his fighters to perform at the highest levels even when they are not feeling their best.
Jason Parillo
Throughout his career, Jason Parillo has coached a who’s who of MMA fighters. He is a master in training the best strikers in the world and has helped many to become UFC champions. He also has a vast knowledge of boxing and knows the importance of mastering the major training implements such as the heavy bag, double end ball and speed bag.
He is a master of combining boxing training with mixed martial arts and knows the importance of understanding the differences between striking in both. He is currently working with many of the top ranked MMA fighters including Cris Cyborg and RDA.
Jason Parillo grew up in New York and moved to California as a child. He started training boxing at age 8 and shadowed Reid until the age of 13.
While his childhood was a difficult one, Parillo says he was always focused and was able to train hard and develop his skills. He also learned how to handle distractions and focus on the task at hand.
With that mindset, he began training professionally at age 24 and had his first professional fight at the age of 26. He had a professional boxing record of 8-0 before he suffered injuries that ended his career.
After his retirement from boxing, Parillo began coaching MMA fighters and has since coached 7 former UFC champions. He is now the head trainer at RVCA and has a list of clients who includes former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
He is a master of using the major training implements of boxing such as the heavy bag, rotating ball and speed bag to improve his students skill level. He also understands the importance of developing the basic movement and creating space.
Greg Jackson
Greg Jackson has trained a lot of fighters over the years and has produced some of the best fighters in the MMA world. He is known for his high level of coaching and has won many awards throughout the years.
He is a good coach because of his knowledge on a variety of different subjects. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge on everything from history to advanced mathematics and psychology, so he is able to mentally train his athletes to be a better fighter.
When he first started his gym he never really had any plans to coach fighters, but as the sport of MMA began to grow he realized that this was a great way for him to help people in his community learn how to fight. He did this by teaching people a style of martial arts that he had learned called “Gaidojiusu” which was a mix of catch wrestling, Judo and kickboxing.
His students quickly started to see success and he was able to start expanding his gym. He has also been a great mentor for some of the top fighters in the MMA world such as Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.
A lot of the fighters that he has coached have given him the nickname, “Yoda.” This is because he is so knowledgeable on a variety of topics. He is considered to be one of the smartest coaches in MMA and has trained a lot of fighters over time.
Another one of the reasons he is such a good coach is because he is very optimistic. This is something that can be very hard to do in a sports world that has so much drama going on.
Rafael Cordeiro
The boxing legend Mike Tyson has been training under the guidance of MMA trainer Rafael Cordeiro at his Kings MMA gym in California. According to the trainer, he’s working with Tyson to get him back in shape for his exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr in November of 2020.
The former heavyweight champion has made a massive body transformation in his time away from the ring. He’s gotten into the best physical shape of his life, and it’s clear that Cordeiro has played a major part in the transformation.
Cordeiro is a world-renowned MMA coach who has coached many of the greatest fighters in the MMA world over the years. He’s also the owner of a powerhouse academy called Kings MMA, which has produced top MMA stars and champions like Fabricio Werdum and Kelvin Gastelum.
He has won numerous accolades throughout his career, including being named a two-time world MMA coach of the year and a world muay thai trainer of the year. He’s also been named one of the most influential muay thai instructors in history by a leading martial arts magazine.
Aside from being a great trainer, Cordeiro is an outstanding Muay Thai fighter as well. He began training Muay Thai at Chute Boxe Academy at the age of 13 and became a black belt within four years.
After earning his black belt, he went on to become the Brazilian Lightweight Champion of Brazil 3 times. He was also the winner of a number of international vale tudo tournaments.
He’s currently coaching Mike Tyson and has been a huge influence in helping him to gain the body of his dreams. The former boxing champion has recently been spotted in sparring sessions with Cordeiro. The trainer has posted videos of the pair battling it out in the ring, and it’s clear that Tyson is taking a lot of hits from his training partner.
