American Kickboxing Academy

American Kickboxing Academy

Est.	mid-1980s
Founded by	Javier Mendez
Primary owners	Javier Mendez
Primary trainers	Javier Mendez Bob Cook Leandro Vieira
Current titleholders	Daniel Cormier (UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) Jon Fitch (WSOF Welterweight Champion) Daniel Puder (WWE's $1,000,000 Tough Enough Champion)
Prominent fighters	Cain Velasquez Gray Maynard Mike Swick Josh Thomson Daniel Cormier Luke Rockhold Todd Duffee Khabib Nurmagomedov Bethe Correia Daniel Puder
Training facilities	San Jose, California, U.S.
Website	www.akakickbox.com

The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a martial arts gym Based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). AKA headquarters is located in South San Jose. In 2014 AKA opened AKA Thailand Gym in Phuket Thailand. Prominent trainers include Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Leandro Vieira, Bob Cook, Derek Yuen, Javier Mendez, and Andy Fong. Within the facility, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Wrestling and Boxing classes are taught. Additional programs include conditioning and circuit training with TRX Suspension and Combat Circuit. American Kickboxing Academy is one of the top professional MMA training camps.

In 2008, the AKA was involved in a brief dispute with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White over the exclusive license rights for a UFC video game. Members of the AKA who were signed with the UFC, including Jon Fitch, Christian Wellisch, Josh Koscheck, and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, refused to sign an exclusive lifetime contract for their video game likenesses over to the UFC, causing them to be cut from the UFC's roster. Within 24 hours, the dispute was resolved and all fighters signed back into the organization.

AKA has also been criticized by MMA fans and journalists, as well as by Dana White, for what is perceived as an excessively high rate of training injuries leading to fight cancellations among its stable of fighters.

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