If Wittman completes the hattrick at UFC 268, will he go down as the greatest coach in MMA history?

[PrepareForGlory]

Trevor "you just need 2-3 more leg kicks to beat khabib" Wittman.

Gaethje won round 1 on the judges scorecards and before getting taken down in round 2 he hit Khabib with a leg kick that immediately made him start limping. Was he wrong? Khabib was fucked in that fight if it stayed standing.

 

[Shaddows]

"Coaches help" is an understatement if i ever saw one. Having a coach for the craft you want to build on is absolutely crucial. Not sure how to describe it any better but having a coach vs not having a coach is a big deal on the elite level. I mean, how many world champions can you name won the title without a coach? And what do you mean about not knowing enough about coaches?

And no, he wouldn't be the GOAT coach just because of it. It would be because of the reasons i asked in the OP.

Obviously an understatement.
But a great coach can turn a mediocre fighter into a champ (i.e. Forrest Griffin coach - Robert Follis).
Turning an elite fighter into a champion is a far lesser accomplishment (comparatively).

But as I said, this is not an easy thing to judge.
You would have to analyze each fighter, assess how good (s)he would be without that coach, check his/her adversaries, their own coaches.... there are a huge number of variables, and measuring just by the accomplishments of his trainees is obviously over-simplification.


Besides, I provided you with other gyms/coaches who trained a trio of fighters that were champs simultaneously (Javier Mendez) with DC, Cain, Luke & Khabib...

But then again, is it not easier to train 4 champions in the same gym? (where one fighter elevates the others)?
Maybe a coach that only has one good fighter in his gym and succeeds turning him into a champion (i.e. John Kavanagh)... wouldn't it be a bigger accomplishment?

Look, I am not disagreeing with you, I am just adding food for thought.
I do think many coaches are not even known by the public. There are few that are well known (Greg Jackson, Firas Zahabi, Edmond Taverdyam, John Kavanagh, Rafael Cordeiro, Andre Pederneiras, Javier Mendez, Heath Sims, etc)... There are a few others I could name that appeared in the news, or you might know because of some specific news or fighter you follow...but most coaches are unnamed, unknown. Heck, I know a coach that used to coach BJJ for stars like Silva, Junior and even Nog brothers... but doubt anyone would know his name...
How would you even judge them?

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

i dont think wittman is on the level of javier mendez --- khabib, dc, cain, rockhold, makhachev.

Trevor "you just need 2-3 more leg kicks to beat khabib" Wittman.

He was that close. You could see khabib limp and immediately dive for a takedown after the last kick. He also won the first round.

The only two men to win a round against Khabib are Conor and D1 wrestler JG

 

[CerebralKnievel]

I already thought Whittman was one of the best coaches in the industry back when he helped Rashad to reach his peak (prior to that whole crash and burn supercamp Blackzillians thing).

 

[DatSamboKid]

It would be an impressive accomplishment.

 

[Noraaq]

Not a chance. His star pupil got wiped out by Khabib

 

[Mental Ray]

Javier with cain, cormier, luke and khabib.
Cordeiro with shogun, wanderlei, rda, and werdum.
Jackson with jones, rashad, holm and som other champions.
Perderneiras with aldo and barao.
What about Conan and mike brown the att head coaches? Amanda, jds, lima, joanna, poirier, kayla...
Henry hooft made usman and today he''s with burns, luque and chandler.
Big nog had Andy, lyoto and feijao, ufc and bellator champions.
Nah... theres a lot of good coaches.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Its not like this guy doesn't have a fight resume. He's 22-6, previous champ in his weight class. After his explosive 1st round KO over Hooker, that mind you, nobody on Sherdog saw happening, he was supposed to get dominated on his feet; a win over Gaethje seals the deal for me.

Seals the deal on what exactly?

 

[Eredin]

The Whittman dick riding is getting annoying.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Its not like this guy doesn't have a fight resume. He's 22-6, previous champ in his weight class. After his explosive 1st round KO over Hooker, that mind you, nobody on Sherdog saw happening, he was supposed to get dominated on his feet; a win over Gaethje seals the deal for me.

What deal is getting sealed?
Other than you being a big Chandler fan which you already are and I bet won't change when Justin wins. Also it funny how you see chandler as the only threat like Zhang and Covington are some cans.

 

[KoreanZawmbie]

So the big storyline for UFC 268 is that Usman, Namajunas and Gaethje all train together. Not only train together, but they do so in a closed, tight enviroment. Wittmans gym is not a big gym like ATT and Jacksons. He chooses who to coach carefully.

So far he's already in the running for coach of the year, but what's different about UFC 268 is that it's the first time 3 training partners are competing on the main card of a PPV. We discuss GOAT fighter alot, but if Wittmans fighters all win on this card, he's the GOAT coach right?

You honestly think Gaethje beats Dustins or Charles? He might beat Chandler, but I see Chandler as more of a journeyman than anything

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Not a chance. His star pupil got wiped out by Khabib

You're wrong Khabib didn't fight Usman.

 

[MosesMaloneGOAT]

All jokes about him be a creep aside, isn't Pat Barry actually Rose's head coach? I think Wittman said recently that he's not as involved in Rose's coaching as Barry is.

 

[Madeline Chelsea]

What deal is getting sealed?
Other than you being a big Chandler fan which you already are and I bet won't change when Justin wins. Also it funny how you see chandler as the only threat like Zhang and Covington are some cans.

Well, unlike Zhang and Covington, Chandler is ready to earn another shot at the title by fighting top contenders, dummy.

 

[Madeline Chelsea]

Seals the deal on what exactly?

That he is one of the best LW in history, for me at least.

 

[Noraaq]

You're wrong Khabib didn't fight Usman.

Pretty stupid to credit Wittman for the success of Usmans career.

 

[Madeline Chelsea]

Trevor "you just need 2-3 more leg kicks to beat khabib" Wittman.

Laughed harder than I should’ve.

 

[Alexander_GOATanovski]

Why would he? All his fighters are favorites and I have strong doubts that Namajunas is winning that rematch. Wittman isn't even a fraction of the striking coach that Rafeal Cordeiro was during his peak. About 70% of Usman's striking was already instilled by the great Henri Hooft. If you wanna see what the work of a legendary striking coach looks like, look at how Cordeiro transformed RDA from a struggling journeyman to perennial championship caliber fighter back when he joined Kings MMA in 2012.

Gaethje won round 1 on the judges scorecards and before getting taken down in round 2 he hit Khabib with a leg kick that immediately made him start limping. Was he wrong? Khabib was fucked in that fight if it stayed standing.

Almost nobody thinks that Gaethje should have won round 1. Striking was almost even and Khabib won the round with the last minute grappling exchange.

He might beat Chandler, but I see Chandler as more of a journeyman than anything

A journeyman with wins over Bendo x2, prime Alvarez, Hooker, Patricky Pitbull x2 & Yamauchi and won the first of two rounds by 10-8 against the current champ

You're wrong Khabib didn't fight Usman.

When it comes to how much Wittman improved the striking of his fighters, Usman is actually the least impressive out of those 3. Gaethje & Namajunas especially made much more improvements than Usman.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Pretty stupid to credit Wittman for the success of Usmans career.

Pretty stupid to call Justin the "star pupil" when the other student is p4p all time great.

 

[KoreanZawmbie]

Why would he? All his fighters are favorites and I have strong doubts that Namajunas is winning that rematch. Wittman isn't even a fraction of the striking coach that Rafeal Cordeiro was during his peak. About 70% of Usman's striking was already instilled by the great Henri Hooft. If you wanna see what the work of a legendary striking coach looks like, look at how Cordeiro transformed RDA from a struggling journeyman to perennial championship caliber fighter back when he joined Kings MMA in 2012.



Almost nobody thinks that Gaethje should have won round 1. Striking was almost even and Khabib won the round with the last minute grappling exchange.




A journeyman with wins over Bendo x2, prime Alvarez, Hooker, Patricky Pitbull x2 & Yamauchi and won the first of two rounds by 10-8 against the current champ




When it comes to how much Wittman improved the striking of his fighters, Usman is actually the least impressive out of those 3. Gaethje & Namajunas especially made much more improvements than Usman.

He's got tremendous flaws, don't even act like his chin/defense hasn't been his biggest problem. His record is up there with anyone in the UFC, but I honestly think Gaethje matches up better against him than Dustin or Charles.