The Triangle Choke: A Visit with AKA (American Kickboxing Academy)

I recently visited the American Kickboxing Academy which is one of the best MMA gyms in the United States. The gym is run by former World Champion Kick boxer Javier Mendez. Mendez has a plethora of talent he works with including; Josh Koscheck, Josh Thompson, Mike Swick, Cung Le, Jon Fitch and fast rising star Cain Velasquez.

On this day, Javier was working exclusively with Velasquez. Velasquez recently defeated the intimidating Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 and is a fast rising prospect in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Many felt the striking game of Kongo would be too much but Cain managed to use his superior grappling skills to control Kongo throughout the entire fight. Next up for Cain is the very tough Shane Carwin. It is highly likely the winner of this bout will get a title shot against Brock Lesnar.

Although Cain doesn’t always appear athletic he is a machine. He has quick and loose hips and tremendous body control. Unlike most wrestlers, Cain is very comfortable on his back and controls his position. His striking power is good and he continues to improve his footwork. Mendez was not pleased with Cain’s stand up performance against Kongo and expects a much better performance against Carwin. It is expected the winner of the Cain/Carwin bout will get a title shot against the imposing Brock Lesnar. The UFC Heavyweight Division is shaping up nicely.

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Brett “The Grim” Rogers, a heavyweight who competes in Strikeforce, stopped by AKA to break a sweat. Rogers is a monster of a man walking around in the 290lb range. Rogers has a good shot at being the 1st Strikeforce heavyweight to get a shot at the world’s greatest fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, and is ranked #3 in our top heavyweights outside the UFC. It was an honor to see two young stars on the rise in the same gym.

Stay tuned to ProFighting-fans.com for information on both Cain Velasquez and Brett Rogers and check out our Cain Velasquez profile page for more video of Velasquez training at AKA.

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Editor-in-Chief

Visit with AKA on August 15, 2009