Photo by Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
Even before his UFC 136 loss to Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard was talking openly about his intention to leave Xtreme Couture, his long-time training camp. At the time Maynard said it was not because he was frustrated with the coaching he got in Las Vegas, but rather a desire to see other places and learn new things from other coaches.
Steve Cofield got some of Maynard's former Xtreme Couture teammates to dish the dirt about the move. Here's Frank Trigg:
"Gray just was not prepared. It was really one of those deals where a coach within his staff just would not pay attention any other coaches. He was getting really upset if any other coach tried to explain to him 'hey, this is how hard I'm going to push Gray in my session. You need to back off in your session so he can recover. [Maynard] wasn't prepared. It's ultimately up to one coach that didn't pay attention."
John Gunderson opened up too:
"The last fight Gray wasn't mentally prepared or physically prepared for that fight. I don't think he trained hard enough and he knows that. I think if Gray really put the time in and the work in, Gray could finish him."
Cofield reports that Randy Couture, who'd been away from the camp for much of 2011 cleaned house upon his return. Two coaches, Gil Martinez and Ron Frazier, left the camp. Martinez was Maynard's head trainer going into UFC 136.
1 recs | 42 comments
Maynard is joining AKA so he too can train with other fighters who stumble at the last hurdle
Astonishing fact: There isn’t a single current AKA fighter (or ex-fighter Koscheck) who has even defended a Zuffa title.
- Fitch and Koscheck never won and badly lost their title shots.
- Swick had a #1 contender fight and badly lost.
- Velasquez never defended and was KOed in a minute.
- King Mo never defended and was KOed with elbows.
- Maynard had his chance and failed to win both occasions. He was KOed badly by a person who rarely wins by KO.
- Cung Le never defended because he had a movie to film.
- Zaromskis couldn’t win the vacant belt and Nick Diaz beat the shit out of him.
Whatever it is with this camp, they’ve got a lot of top-class fighters who just can’t make it over the mountain top.
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
Cain was AKAs best shot at having a dominating presence in the UFC.
however, I thought King Mo and Zaromskis trained at other camps? I know Zaromskis was with London Shootfighters when he won the Dream belt and i believe he was wit them when he challenged for the SF belt. After that loss is whe he went to AKA, no?
Ricardo Arguello - February 18, 2012
I'm going based on fighters currently with AKA
Not necessarily where they trained at the time they fought.
Josh Thomson did win and defend the Strikeforce LW Championship so I guess that’s close enough. So he’s the only AKA guy to win and defend either a UFC or Strikeforce title.
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
Yeah, because it’s oh-so-easy to win AND defend a UFC title. Especially when you’re in the division with the greatest fighter to ever walk the fucking planet in GSP.
Newman24 - February 18, 2012
According to Forrest Lynn though, AKA is the best camp EVAR! And King Mo totally isn’t on steroids.
MicahtheCynic - February 18, 2012
It's probably the best camp in North America, save Jackson's
kellly - February 18, 2012
king mo is motastic
but he done roids
Kronic - February 19, 2012
I listed a whopping two fighters who fought at UFC WW
Swick had a fight for a title shot and is Dan Hardy’s last win.
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
I love it when people bring up Zaromskis, just because he makes me laugh. He thinks blocking punches with your arms is for pussies, so he blocks them with his face.
MicahtheCynic - February 18, 2012
I'm not a King Mo fan
But I’m fairly certain he didn’t go up to AKA until the Larkin fight, and only after Cormier insisted he come up. Can’t blame the camp for his past failures.
bustachong - February 18, 2012 via iPhone app
As I said earlier, it's current fighters + Koscheck and not at the time they fought
It’s not the camp, it’s just the observation of the fighters they have under their umbrella.
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
Ah
Got it. I misunderstood the implication.
bustachong - February 20, 2012
interesting observations and valid points. rec'd
xtreme couture has fewer people who have even reached the last hurdle
Randy Couture won and defended once, shortly after opening the gym. The whole camp and its prestige is based around his legacy, so I’m excluding him and focusing on what he’s produced
- Frank Trigg – Rear Naked Trigg. ’nuff said.
- Forrest Griffin won a controversial decision for the title but never defended and got smoked in the last round by flailing TKO
- Heath Herring got his orbital smashed and was beaten on for three rounds in what may or may not have been a title eliminator for him
- Ryan Bader was battered and choked by Jones with ease in his title eliminator
- Vitor Belfort got kicked in the brain in a highlight reel ko
AKA seems to be more consistent in terms of upper-level mainstays – all Couture has now are Belfort and possibly Bader
I’d say it’s a step up, but i have to agree that it probably won’t get him that treasured gold
Cunny - February 18, 2012
Good stuff.
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
I thought Bader was at ACSA and is at Power MMA
When was he at Xtreme Couture?
kellly - February 18, 2012
going by wiki
says he’s xc and power mma
Cunny - February 18, 2012
Rockhold’s with AKA isn’t he? I don’t see him losing any time soon, but then again, he’s only got a total of 3 whole fighters that he can be matched up with in Strikeforce’s middleweight division.
savik - February 18, 2012
They’re still one of the top camps around, that little list you did doesn’t prove anything in my opinion. They have a bunch of top-class fighters and coaches there, I think that’s the most important thing.
Horselover Fat - February 18, 2012
Not sure if this is the point you're trying to make
But man, AKA is awesome when you list it like that. If you put on a camp vs. camp show, I’d probably favor AKA over any gym other than Jackson’s
kellly - February 18, 2012
Preemptive strike against idiocy
Blackhouse doesn’t count
kellly - February 18, 2012
Are we talking fighters who train with Jackson or fighters who are coached by Jackson?
If we’re just talking about fighters who actually train with Jackson then the camp is significantly less impressive, and I’d take AKA over them all day.
MS_Dos_Santos - February 18, 2012
You missed Luke Rockhold
Daniel Cormier may be able to make some waves in the Heavyweight Division. It’s tough for me to blame the MMA camp if their fighters can’t win and defend a Title. Some guys just aren’t good enough to win a high level MMA Title, and there aren’t many to go around. I don’t really blame the camp, but just the reality that some guys just won’t be champion.
chrisbboy82 - February 18, 2012
Let's look at where everyone trains
I believe JDS spends most of his time training at Champions Team, and splitting some time with team Noguiera.
Jon Jones trains at Jacksons.
Anderson Silva spends most of his time at X-Gym while splitting some time with Team Noguiera.
GSP mostly trains in Tristar, but has done grappling at Renzo Gracie’s academy in NY and a bit of training at Jacksons.
I know Frankie has trained with Serra/Longo, AMA fight club, Renzo Gracie fight team (he’s an Almedia guy), but he also uses Ruetgers training facility because I believe he is coach there.
Jose Aldo trains at Nova Uniao.
Cruz trains at Alliance and spends some time with Lloyd Irvin.
And Joseph Benavidez trains at Team Alpha Male while Mighty Mouse trains with Matt Hume. Either of those guys is your future flyweight champion.
No one team overwhelmingly has a strong amount of champions. I think that a fight camp can vastly improve your skills, but whether you’re champion material is up to the individual fighter.
discoandherpes - February 18, 2012
no way can you pick JoeB and mighty mouse over uncle creepy
dude is on some steamroller action and is going to make a serious statement when he gets to australia.
whoodzzz - February 18, 2012
Ian McCall is easily a top five flyweight
But Joe B and MM have had a ton of success fighting up in weight, and have been fighting tougher fighters than McCall. Joe B is probably the best bantamweight in the world not named Dominick Cruz.
Not only can I pick against Uncle Creepy, I will pick against him.
discoandherpes - February 18, 2012
Well, isn't the SF welterweight title now a Zuffa title? and Rockhold just defended it.
Chris Groves - February 18, 2012
I mean *Middleweight
Chris Groves - February 18, 2012
think it was a good decision on gray's part
xtreme couture doesn’t come off as being a great camp
Cunny - February 18, 2012
But it has the word "XTREME" there!!!
SSreporters - February 18, 2012
My thoughts on Xtreme Couture
Too many fighters under one roof so individual attention some fighters will need is minimal, and I’m sure playing favorites becomes a factor in who the coaches will spend time with. Couple that with more focus on growing a brand rather than getting results, a lot of the fighters who aren’t priorities or the number one guys in the gym are better off elsewhere to grow and develop.
KJ Gould - February 18, 2012
It just seems like a camp where fighters just come and go. There are stable fighters there, but it just comes off like a fighter will train there for a camp, but may go somewhere else for their next camp.
chrisbboy82 - February 18, 2012
That's a valid criticism.
There are some great trainers and great fighters at XC, and it can be very crowded at times. ATT has experienced the same problem. The thing is, these trainers only have so many hours in the day. Gil Martinez, Neil Melansen, Ron Frazier, and all the other coaches at the gym have ALOT of fighters that they train, corner, mentor, etc. Randy is a very busy man, and although some of the fighters (Alessio, Kampmann, Pyle, etc) will teach classes and train up and comers, they’re still plowing along with their own careers as well.
But in Vegas, you’ll be hard pressed to find such a collection of talent elsewhere. It is a mecca for top notch sparring partners and elite instructors.
ElliotMatheny - February 19, 2012
I'm sure that's a very informed opinion on your part.
ElliotMatheny - February 19, 2012
thank you
Cunny - February 19, 2012
really though,
basing it on the success i’ve seen in xtreme couture, which has been limited
known fighters seem to go there and don’t see too much improvement
see my post above
Cunny - February 19, 2012
Yeah, such limited success
Many of these guys are basically homegrown, taken straight from wrestling (or whatever other background, if any) and put through the system at XC, guys like Mike Chandler, Hendricks, Dunham, Sadollah, etc.
ElliotMatheny - February 19, 2012
you have ties to xc or something?
Cunny - February 19, 2012
Trained there off and on for the last few years.
ElliotMatheny - February 20, 2012
Now that I think about it....
I honestly can’t remember the last time a fighter who came out of Xtreme Couture that was successful……. Maybe Vitor Belfort…… but other then him who else?
Jay Hieron in my opinion could have beat Ben Askren during their Welterweight title fight. And I know he trains at Xtreme Couture as well. But throughout the who match IMHO he was fighting very sloppy.
I know it’s Hieron’s (and Gray’s as well) responsiblity as a fighter to maximize your potential to win your matches….. But that weight falls on the coaches around you as well
jack knight starman - February 18, 2012
Forrest Griffin is successful
Martin Kampmann and Evan Dunham to a lesser extent.
Elite fighters aren’t so common that you can hate on a camp for only having a few
kellly - February 18, 2012
Maynard's training became stagnant
Much like other fighters who train with the same partners & fail to evolve and move around other camps and develop their skills
The KO Kid - February 18, 2012 via iPhone app
That's kind of shitty to say...
Gray manhandled Frankie in both fights like no one ever did before, not even BJ.
To take that away from him and say he wasn’t focused and not in shape is pathetic. What a tool.
Matt Nelson - February 18, 2012
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