Daniel Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Luke Rockhold, Cain Velasquez, and Islam Makhachev—what’s common between all these men? Sure, they are (or were) teammates at the American Kickboxing Academy, but there’s something else that sets these men apart from other gyms. What is that? Well, the fact that they chose not to fight each other, when they were active competitors alongside each other in the UFC. Daniel Cormier‘s relationship with former teammate Cain Velasquez is well known, as ‘DC’—a natural heavyweight, chose to cut down to light heavyweight to allow his brother-in-arms to be the best in the heaviest division.
The former 2-time Mexican-American heavyweight champion recently opened up on that front, as he and coach Javier Mendez revealed an important rule that his team, often led by Khabib Nurmagomedov, has in place. “It wasn’t about getting a championship or anything like that. It was more of seeing a brother go out and accomplishing these dreams, and just to expand himself. So, the rule of the gym normally is that but I wouldn’t have done that because of who Daniel is to me,” Velasquez told WOLFpak.‹
Javier Mendez further added that all the fighters in the AKA gym and Team Khabib also have a method of dealing with fighters who show eagerness to fight their teammates. It’s simply showing them the door because Mendez and Co. do not want to send the wrong message to the MMA community.
“The rule—like Cain alluded to—that is a rule, but this is the rule also that adds with that,” Javier Mendez stated. “If you are offered a fight against a teammate and he’s not the champion—and it’s just for a contender’s status or something like that, the one individual that wants that fight versus the other one that doesn’t really want that fight, that person’s gonna get asked to leave the gym.”
Indicating that this rule encompasses all fighters, including Islam Makhachev. Team Khabib’s head coach further stated, “We cannot have that because if we have that, then what’s the goal here? We’re all going to fight each other to climb to the top? No, that’s not a team.”
Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov | via Imago
But teammates fight all the time. Many have done it before, and many will probably do it in the future. So what’s stopping Team Khabib? Well, Javier Mendez claimed that he also worries about his image and the image of other coaches and the way people perceive them. So, even if the UFC hands them good money, Team Khabib will never have their teammates clash against each other.
“The UFC’s job and all the other organizations’ job is to get the best fights possible that they make the most money. So, having a teammate fight a teammate, it’s obviously bigger views, but for my gym, it’s going to destroy my gym,” Javier Mendez added. “It’s going to destroy the morale because it’s gonna say, ‘Now what does that say about the coaches? That they’re okay with that? And many other gyms have done that, but I would never, ever, ever, cross that line.’”
Given how much emphasis there is on helping each other out, it’s no wonder that coach Mendez’s team has numerous world champions. Moreover, an MMA legend recently declared them as the real team in all of sports. Here’s what he had to say.
MMA legend claims Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team is a ‘real team’
One of the top MMA analysts and former UFC title contender and Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen spoke very highly about Team Khabib recently. While dismissing the Lakers, Celtics, and the many other sporting teams that exist in all of sports, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team stands out for ‘The American Gangster’ as the only legit team where teammates work with each other to hone their craft and support each other.
“The only real team that we have is Khabib’s team. The only guys where guys actually come to the same gym, and they come up together, and they help one another. They pass it forward,” Chael Sonnen stated on the Good Guy/Bad Guy show. “The only guys that actually go to the same place, based on proximity of where they grew up and were born. The only real team we have, in any sport, anywhere, is Khabib’s team.”
Indeed. Unlike teams like the American Top Team, where major drama ensued with former best friends-turned-bitter rivals Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington fighting each other, both inside and outside the Octagon—the members of Team Khabib, whether active or not, share the same love of camaraderie and brotherhood they shared when they were all active competitors.
Loyalty is always a big deal in MMA and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team and all of AKA are shining examples of that. But what do you think is the reason for their success? Does their camaraderie and brotherhood play a big part in their success? Let us know in the comments down below.
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