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Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Chenault, the 185-pound competitor, listens to guidance from his coaches  photo by The U.S. Army –

Here are the 10 Best MMA Trainers

Sports fans enjoy watching fighters as compelling individuals. They are the most notable athletes in every sport known to man. But occasionally we lose sight of the fact that every great story and every great fighter has a great coach at their side. Fighters wouldn’t be completely equipped to meet the challenge presented to them in a fight without the direction and wisdom of a coach.

The difference between brilliant fighters who go on to compete at the highest levels and local promotion washouts to become the best MMA fighters of all time is frequently good coaching. Any coaches on this list as well as many others we considered are top-notch MMA experts. Here are the 10 best MMA trainers who are behind the best UFC fighters.

1. Greg Jackson/Mike Winkeljohn

Greg Jackson is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best MMA trainers. Jackson’s award-winning MMA training facility Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA Academy is also regarded as one of the best MMA training facilities in the world. Jackson and Winkeljohn own the well-known “Jackson Wink MMA Academy” in New Mexico. They are both legendary head coaches, and because they share a brand and train their fighters together, they should share a spot on this list.

Jackson Wink has been around for a long time. The best fighters in the world have trained under his guidance. It is best known for producing UFC champions such as Holly Holm and Jon Jones. Jackson is skilled at determining a fighter’s strengths and weaknesses before creating a training schedule to optimize strengths and strengthen weaknesses. He has assisted several fighters in transitioning from “mid-card fighters” to actual weight-class competitors.

2. Mike Brown

Mike Brown with fans – UFC 100 Fan Expo – Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas photo by Mark Richardson –

Former WEC lightweight champion Mike Brown is a top coach with the American Top Team. He twice successfully defended his WEC title as a fighter before joining the UFC in 2011. Brown was a formidable opponent for anyone, even though he never won the UFC championship.

But it appears that his success as a coach is even greater. Brown has worked with an incredible number of elite fighters over the past few years. The UFC champions Dustin Poirier, Amanda Nunes, Colby Covington, and many others are among those for whom he is most known. In addition, there are a ton of other combatants who will soon be rising to the top.

Despite only beginning his coaching career in 2013, he has already received numerous accolades. He got the “Coach of the Year” honours from CombatPress.com four years in a row as well as the “MMA Awards” in 2018.

3. Ricardo Liborio

Ricardo Liborio, the individual responsible for the MMA facility in Coconut Creek, is a former student of the great Vale Tudo fighter Carlson Gracie and a former member of the Brazilian Top Team. He left BTT in 2003 to start his camp with a few other BTT members.  Liborio, the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World champion, is a grappling master who has competed in mixed martial arts and vale tudo, as well as mentored a staggering number of fighters.

Howard Davis Jr. and Chutiphat Runsgawang are just two of the top striking instructors he has surrounded himself with, but Liborio is the one who holds it all together. To name a few, Liborio has worked with Hector Lombard, the middleweight champion of Bellator, Thiago Silva, Cole Miller, Mark Bocek, and Thiago Alves, all of whom are UFC contenders, Antonio Silva, the heavyweight champion of the Strike force, and more.

4. Rafael Cordeiro

Rafael Cordeiro in 2018 photo by CatchJitsu.com –

He is undoubtedly one of the first MMA coaches. Some of the biggest names in MMA, including Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, were all produced by the former fighter and coach from Chute Box Academy. In MMA, Cordeiro is renowned for his skill in helping fighters refine their striking technique.

With his gym, Kings MMA, Cordeiro continues to develop champions and the greatest athletes in sports. He has won multiple best coach and coach of the year accolades. Current and former UFC World Champions Rafael Dos Anjos, Fabricio Werdum, and Lyoto Machida are a few of these competitors.

5. Cesar Gracie

Like so many Gracies, Cesar decided to start his school in California. He does so in Pleasant Hill, where he imparts his style of traditional, self-defence-oriented Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. When they were in school, Nick and Nate Diaz each came to Cesar to simply learn how to protect themselves from bullies. Today, they are two of Cesar’s most well-known trainees. Cesar and Strikeforce have a history of working together. His lone MMA match was the opening Strikeforce MMA card’s main event versus Ken Shamrock.

In turn, several of Cesar’s fighters were directed to the San Jose-based promotion, where they enjoyed enormous success. The following champions train at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu: Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, former Strikeforce Welterweight and Middleweight Champion and current UFC No. 1 Welterweight contender Jake Shields, TUF Season 5 Nate Diaz and UFC fighters Daniel Roberts, Gil Castillo and David Terrell.

6. Trevor Wittman

Trevor Wittman began his career in combat sports as a boxer. Wittman’s career as a fighter, however, came to an end when a major lung injury was discovered. Wittman started the T’s K.O. Boxing Gym in Colorado after he retired, and in 2009 it changed its name to the Grudge Training Center.

He would go on to become among the most well-known MMA coaches in the world a few years later. Wittman is renowned for being an exceptionally meticulous trainer. Because he devotes so much time to each of his students, he doesn’t train many MMA fighters. Some of his most notable trainees include Kamaru Usman and ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas.

7. Javier Mendez

Javier Mendez photo by Aslan Beidiev –

Javier Mendez is regarded as one of the pioneering MMA coaches. The former kickboxing champion established the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in the 1980s, but Mendez didn’t enter the MMA scene until the middle of the 1990s. When Frank Shamrock joined the AKA in 1997, Mendez had just begun a new career as an MMA trainer when he discovered his first UFC champion.

Some of the best fighters in the business to this day were trained by Mendez and the AKA squad. With current and previous champions, as well as top title contenders including BJ Penn, Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, Josh Thompson, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the AKA stable of fighters is one of the most accomplished fight teams in the world.

8. Firas Zahabi

Firas Zahabi in 2021 photo by Individuation Portal –

The TriStar Gym, one of the top MMA gyms in all of Canada, was founded by Firas Zahabi. He is renowned for taking a novel, in-depth, and analytical approach to MMA combat. Additionally, he and Greg Jackson have a tight relationship that enables knowledge, skills, and tactics to be exchanged between the two sides.

Athletes that have received Zahabi training are similar to Jackson in terms of composure and match preparation. With vigorous ground and pounds and a constant search for (safe) submissions, his athletes—whether they are St. Pierre, MacDonald, or Miguel Torres—always maintain a high level of fitness.

Georges St-Pierre, a former UFC Welterweight World Champion, Rory MacDonald, and Kenny Florian are just a few of the best and most well-rounded fighters that Firas Zahabi and the TriStar Gym have trained and produced.

9. Ray Longo

Longo has received training in a variety of disciplines since his beginning years in the 1970s. He is one of the select few MMA coaches that is also a licensed Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do instructor. Former UFC welterweight champion and Hall of Famer Matt Serra trained under Longo for a very long time. The now-famous Serra-Longo Fight Team was founded by Serra and his old MMA coach after Serra resigned from cage competition.

Longo is not only one of the top MMA trainers working today; he is also a creative force in the industry. Serra mentioned some of Longo’s peculiar training techniques, such as pushing automobiles down the street and running up hills, during his UFC Hall of Fame address.

Longo has recently assisted a few UFC competitors in winning the most coveted award in MMA. For his historic performance against Anderson Silva at UFC 162, he trained Chris Weidman. Aljamain Sterling, the contentious UFC bantamweight champion, is coached by Longo.

10. Andre Pederneiras

Andre Pederneiras is recognized as one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) trainers in the world in addition to being a top MMA coach. Paderneiras, the director and co-founder of the Nova Uniao MMA academy, is renowned for producing world champions from underprivileged areas of Rio de Janeiro.

Robson Moura and BJ Penn are just two examples of the outstanding grapplers that Nova Uniao has developed, making it one of the top BJJ schools in the world. Current and former world champions including Jose Aldo, Renan Barao, Junior dos Santos, and Marlon Sandro are part of the Nova Uniao fight squad.