Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia and AKA club founder Javier Mendez have been named MMA Junkie's Best Coaches of 2022.
Together, this coaching pair went 19-2 in 2022. And in that campaign, they captured the UFC and Bellator lightweight titles, plus built several prospects and legit contenders in the UFC, Bellator and ONE Championship.
Khabib had the last fight of his career in October 2020 in the main event of UFC 254 against American Justin Gaethje. In that confrontation, Nurmagomedov choked his opponent in the second round. After this fight, he announced the end of his professional career. He has 29 wins and no losses in mixed martial arts under his belt.
Under Mendez' guidance, AKA has produced such champions as Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, B.J. Penn, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Luke Rockhold, Miesha Tate, Germaine de Randamie, Khadzhimurat Gatsalov (2004 Olympic champion, five-time world champion and three-time European champion).
