Are guys like Eric Albarracin and Javier Mendez even actually good coaches for MMA?

[GolovKing]

Neither guy actually has MMA experience. Eric was a wrestler and Javier Mendez was an American style kickboxer. I feel like neither guy actually had much to do at a technical level with improving the great fighters who train with them. Javier Mendez is more of a manager of a gym and the elite guys at aka got to where they were skill wise by their previous experience and from training with one another. Eric is more like a hype man and assistant for Henry who knows far more about wrestling than he does and even seems like he's actually better at training people too.

 

[flowoftruth]

DON"T PUT ALBARRACIN AND JAVIER MENDEZ'S NAMES TOGETHER EVER AGAIN

 

[GolovKing]

DON"T PUT ALBARRACIN AND JAVIER MENDEZ'S NAMES TOGETHER EVER AGAIN

They are equal in terms of actually teaching fundamentals or skills to MMA fighters. Javier is a smarter guy though who I think does have a part in adding to his fighters success by building a team, and a great facility and environment where these guys would want to train at. I think Eric doesn't have much to do with Henry's success at all though, I think Henry just liked him as a friend and hype man for him

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Is Javier Mendes who's cornered five UFC champions a good coach for MMA?

Is this a serious question?

 

[Thesnake101]

No, every MMA coach is a variant of Edmund. Cali Edmund, Irish Edmund, Mexi Edmund, etc.

 

[TheToneZone]

Bro

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

What does the MA part of MMA stand for?

 

[TheToneZone]

Are Albert Einstein and Beetlejuice actually any good at physics?

Are Mike Tyson and Stephen Hawking really both great boxers?

 

[GolovKing]

Is Javier Mendes who's cornered five UFC champions a good coach for MMA?

Is this a serious question?

He never has any real technical advice to give any of his fighters. Saying "do fathers plan" because your guys are wrestlers and you yourself know nothing about wrestling doesn't count

 

[KarateYeah]

 

[moosaev]

They are equal in terms of actually teaching fundamentals or skills to MMA fighters. Javier is a smarter guy though who I think does have a part in adding to his fighters success by building a team, and a great facility and environment where these guys would want to train at. I think Eric doesn't have much to do with Henry's success at all though, I think Henry just liked him as a friend and hype man for him

How the fuck do you know what they teach? Are you in their training camps?

Some of the best boxing coaches in history (eddie futch, cus d'amato, ray arcel) were never boxers. Teaching and doing are different things. You can be a skilled teacher without ever having done something at the highest level.

 

[Poirierfan]

I just can't.

 

[Private Whatley]

No, MMA fighters just hate money and that’s why so many high level guys continue using them. I assume that they must do something right to amass the stables that they’ve had although given the state of fighter pay relative to overall revenue, I’m not discounting the possibility that these guys actually hate money.

 

[GolovKing]

How the fuck do you know what they teach? Are you in their training camps?

Some of the best boxing coaches in history (eddie futch, cus d'amato, ray arcel) were never boxers. Teaching and doing are different things. You can be a skilled teacher without ever having done something at the highest level.

All of those guys were boxers just not professionally. They all were taught boxing themselves when they were young but got into training early on rather than trying to be fighters first. Eric literally knows nothing else besides wrestling and Javier knows nothing else besides American style kickboxing which is not even a good base for mma

 

[GolovKing]

No, MMA fighters just hate money and that’s why so many high level guys continue using them. I assume that they must do something right to amass the stables that they’ve had although given the state of fighter pay relative to overall revenue, I’m not discounting the possibility that these guys actually hate money.

Guys go to Henry's gym to train with Henry they don't care about Eric. Mendez is respected but people go to his gym because they like the gym and they want to train with the guys who are there. Mostly it's a place people go to to improve wrestling. No high level fighter says "hey I'm gonna go to aka so Javier Mendez can teach me how to strike", like they do with Trevor whittman or henri hooft.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

He never has any real technical advice to give any of his fighters. Saying "do fathers plan" because your guys are wrestlers and you yourself know nothing about wrestling doesn't count

Not every coach is there to give technical advice during a fight and every fighter builds his team differently depending on his needs.

AKA fighters typically have gotten all the necessary technical instruction prior to the fight and during a fight the advice focuses on strategy/tactics.

Seeing as how they have had 5 UFC champions directly coached by Javier it would seem he's a damn solid coach for helping them prep and execute, otherwise why would they have him in their corner?

 

[Willie]

Guys go to Henry's gym to train with Henry they don't care about Eric. Mendez is respected but people go to his gym because they like the gym and they want to train with the guys who are there. Mostly it's a place people go to to improve wrestling. No high level fighter says "hey I'm gonna go to aka so Javier Mendez can teach me how to strike", like they do with Trevor whittman or henri hooft.

Javier is a former kick boxing champion, AKA until couple of years ago was not known to be a wrestling gym. Khabib and DC changed that.

 

[Willie]

He never has any real technical advice to give any of his fighters. Saying "do fathers plan" because your guys are wrestlers and you yourself know nothing about wrestling doesn't count

His fighers know how to fight, Islam, Umar and khabib (at the time) don't need too much advice, they already know what to do.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Neither guy actually has MMA experience. Eric was a wrestler and Javier Mendez was an American style kickboxer. I feel like neither guy actually had much to do at a technical level with improving the great fighters who train with them. Javier Mendez is more of a manager of a gym and the elite guys at aka got to where they were skill wise by their previous experience and from training with one another. Eric is more like a hype man and assistant for Henry who knows far more about wrestling than he does and even seems like he's actually better at training people too.

I think they can be, even if they are more so delegators/managers than coaches -- a lot of the best gyms are lead by guys that either have never competed in MMA or have had unsubstantial MMA careers -- Jackson MMA, Tristar, American Top Team, etc. With that said, I do believe there are limits to what you can say as a coach/mentor if you yourselff have never competed. They're essentially swimming experts that have never jumped in a pool before (or barely jumped in a pool before).

 

[NicholasJBasile]

No, every MMA coach is a variant of Edmund. Cali Edmund, Irish Edmund, Mexi Edmund, etc.

I can't wait to see who takes ownership of Italian Edmund.