AKA

What is AKA?

Javier Mendez, a former kickboxing champion, founded AKA in 1985 as a professional and recreational MMA gym in San Jose, California, teaching students on the floor of a friend’s glass shop after hours. The gym’s reputation grew fast once fighters showed up. Frank Shamrock trained there before becoming the gym’s first UFC champion in 1997, and BJ Penn joined in the early 2000s.

Today AKA sits in the same tier as American Top Team and Jackson Wink MMA Academy among the sport’s most successful fight camps, with champions across weight classes and promotions spanning four decades. The main gym operates out of San Jose, and a satellite location opened in Phuket, Thailand in 2014. Unlike many elite camps that train pros only, AKA runs public classes in kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing right alongside its professional program.

What sets AKA apart from other blue-chip gyms is its wrestling pedigree. Several of its biggest stars, including Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov, arrived as decorated amateur wrestlers before AKA’s coaches built championship-level striking around that foundation.

AKA vs. “aka” (the abbreviation)

Typing “AKA” into a search bar pulls up two completely different things, and MMA fans occasionally trip over the mix-up. The lowercase, everyday abbreviation aka stands for “also known as” and shows up everywhere from court documents to nicknames; it has nothing to do with martial arts.

Capitalized AKA in a fight context refers specifically to American Kickboxing Academy, the gym. A simple context check clears up which one is meant: if the word sits next to a fighter’s name, a weight class, or “San Jose,” the gym is what’s being discussed.

How AKA works

A typical AKA training camp runs about eight weeks heading into a fight, with two structured sessions a day plus conditioning work. Mendez oversees the program, and longtime striking coach Bob Cook, known around the gym as “Crazy” Bob, spent decades in the corner for fighters like Cormier and Cain Velasquez before stepping back to focus on his own ventures. Muay Thai coach Derek Yuen has run that side of the program for close to twenty years, while wrestling and jiu-jitsu instruction has rotated through decorated athletes on the roster itself, including Cormier and Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Leandro Vieira.

Fighters from different weight classes and different promotions train on the same mats, which is part of why AKA’s sparring sessions have a reputation for intensity. That reputation cuts both ways. UFC president Dana White has publicly criticized AKA’s rate of training injuries, arguing that the pace of camp contributes to fighters pulling out of scheduled bouts.

Notable AKA champions

AKA’s fight team has produced world champions in every major MMA era, from the sport’s earliest regulated shows to today’s UFC pay-per-views. The table below lists some of the most notable.

Fighter	Title(s)	Promotion
Frank Shamrock	Middleweight Champion (1997)	UFC
Cain Velasquez	Heavyweight Champion (2x)	UFC
Daniel Cormier	Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Champion	UFC
Luke Rockhold	Middleweight Champion	UFC, Strikeforce
Khabib Nurmagomedov	Lightweight Champion, retired 29-0	UFC
Islam Makhachev Welterweight	Welterweight Champion, former Lightweight Champion	UFC

AKA’s current roster carries that lineage forward. Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov trains there, alongside top UFC contenders Umar Nurmagomedov and Tai Tuivasa.

Common misconceptions

A few mix-ups come up again and again around AKA. The first is assuming it only trains professional fighters. In reality, most of the gym’s daily class schedule serves hobbyists, kids and weekend athletes, with the pro team sharing space rather than operating as a separate, closed-off facility.

The second mix-up involves AKA Thailand. The Phuket location is an official AKA affiliate rather than a franchise chain, and it shares coaching philosophy with the San Jose gym without being identical in roster or ownership.

A third: AKA is sometimes confused with American Top Team, a similarly large, similarly decorated gym based in Coconut Creek, Florida. The two are unrelated organizations that happen to share an era and a knack for producing champions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does AKA stand for in MMA?

American Kickboxing Academy, an MMA gym in San Jose, California.

Who founded AKA?

Javier Mendez, a former kickboxing world champion, founded AKA in 1985 and is still head coach today.

Where is AKA located?

The main gym is in San Jose, California, with an official affiliate location in Phuket, Thailand.

Can beginners train at AKA?

Yes. AKA offers public classes in kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing for beginners and hobbyists, not just its pro team.

Who currently trains at AKA?

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev headlines the roster, along with Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and contenders Umar Nurmagomedov and Tai Tuivasa.

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Sources

1. American Kickboxing Academy. “About.” Accessed September 2026.
   https://www.americankickboxingacademy.com/
2. Wikipedia. “American Kickboxing Academy.” Accessed September 2026.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Kickboxing_Academy
3. LowKick MMA. “American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) – MMA Gym.” Accessed September 2026.
   https://www.lowkickmma.com/american-kickboxing-academy-aka/
4. The Scrap. “Gym Series: AKA is standing the test of time.” Accessed September 2026.
   https://www.thescrap.co/gym-series-aka/
5. Tapology. “American Kickboxing Academy Gym Page.” Accessed September 2026.
   https://www.tapology.com/gyms/63-american-kickboxing-academy

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