

Photo by Jason O. Watson/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Kurt Vonnegut once said: “I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you can see all kinds of things you can’t see from the centre.”

There’s an interesting dichotomy to the relationships we, as fans, observe in mixed martial arts: at times so commonplace, so centered, while at others, wholly deserving of examination. This is because we in the stands cannot fully understand what it’s like for these men and women out on the edge.

In MMA, so much about the relationships formed between those in teams is trivialized. Many will have you believe that in MMA there are no teams. They will have you believe that an individual sport in which every man and woman is out there for themselves doesn’t and shouldn’t require the raw emotion relationships that deep trust evokes.

Every great MMA team has its leader. That one person, that dynamic individual that the high level and young prospects alike aspire to, the person they look to learn from, to build off of and to create whole communities that, together, face enormous physical and emotional pain, strain and hardship.

Urijah Faber is one of the great examples of the modern era. A man that physically built his own community through his “block” for his own team. All of the alpha male standouts all cite “The California Kid” effect as a reason why they are now based in Sacramento.

Competitiveness is a drive that athletes can explore within the sanctity of the academy and release upon entering a cage. In Sacramento, the Alpha Male camp agree that TJ Dillashaw is the pound for pound meanest and hardest person to spar with.

That sanctity is of vital importance. Justin Buchholz recently spoke about Alpha Male, stating that they’ve all loved and hated one another, creating a genuine family bond. The competitiveness they feel toward an opponent is created through their daily interactions with their teammates.

Dillashaw is now the world champion, the darling of striking aficionados. His success was built on a variety of factors, all swirled together by his naturally extreme killer instinct, which was bred on the mats of Ultimate Fitness.

The Sacramento King is an example of the changing of the guard within gyms. In mixed martial arts it can be a beautiful thing, a natural evolutionary process. Sometimes it’s an ebb and flow of talent and practices. Sometimes it’s one element that needs clicking.

Javier Mendes’ AKA was renowned for its welterweight pack: title challengers Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck along with fan favorite Mike Swick. Part of what drove these guys in their heyday were the moves and countermoves they psychologically would need to play on the rest of the division.

Fitch and Koschek are particularly renowned for facing the same opponent. Fitch would dominate Paulo Thiago after the Brazilian upset Koscheck with a lead uppercut in the first at UFC 95 in London. Years later, Koscheck would step up to face Johnny Hendricks after watching the future champion knock out Fitch in 12 seconds at UFC 141.

Imagine watching a friend and sparring partner lose so dramatically, to have spent months and years growing together, developing together and creating careers and lives together—and then to have watched his end in one hand motion. Rankings and contracts go out the window. There’s something else at play in these instances.



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In the here and now of AKA, the banner for the NorCal gym is flown by UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and former Strikeforce standouts Luke Rockhold and Daniel Cormier. All have spoken about how proudly they wear the three red letters. In the realms of an individual sport, is it really true to say that there are only three people in the cage at any one time?

For Cain Velasquez the fans are being presented glimpses at the best heavyweight of the modern generation. As heavyweight champion of the world, he has reigned from his seat at AKA, the house Javier Mendez and Bob Cook built.

By 2015, Velasquez will have had only a fight a year for the past five years, stunting the legacy he should be rightfully bestowed upon him. That’s a huge burden to have to see and experience for the modern crop of talent at AKA.

After a now controversial loss to Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold has looked like a man possessed. Felling Costas Philippou before locking Tim Boetsch in a kimura/inverted triangle combination, the Mundials champion is hunting the bright lights he’s been watching be shed on his larger teammates.

In taking on Michael Bisping this weekend in Sydney, there’s going to be a certain venting of frustration. A genuine moral victory can be delivered after news of Velasquez’s tragic injury, forcing a title bout at UFC 181 in Mexico without the champion. With a win, Rockhold continues his personal hunt for Chris Weidman, as well as laying down the gauntlet for Cormier.

Rockhold and DC are intensely competitive—from winning the AKA captaincy to seeing who can generate more hype for their upcoming bouts. This is in part built by their years coming through the ranks together. The two men share a timeline in MMA history, having been the final champions of the Strikeforce organization, a promotion deeply rooted in AKA and San Diego.

Velasquez is treated with the utmost respect by his teammates, particularly wrestling coach and new AKA team captain Daniel Cormier. Cormier, a two time Olympian has made the cut to Light Heavyweight twice due to his resistance to hurt Velasquez in any shape or form, citing the champion’s immediate acceptance of Cormier as a friend, sparring partner, and mentor.

On Januray 3rd, Cormier will challenge Jon Jones for the Light heavyweight title. Jon Jones is a man with his own experience of gym brotherhoods. He was famously painted as the upstart villain by former teammate Rashad Evans, a souring that has never truly been lifted from the New Yorker.

Cormier is renowned as a dominating emotional and psychological force in the AKA wrestling rooms. In his interactions with Pat Cummins, we saw Cormier belittled for breaking in practice, a remark that showcased Cormier’s intense emotional drive.

Utilizing this ploy was a great PR tactic for Cummins that promptly fell apart once he was in the cage with Cormier. For Cormier, there was a sacredness to the room and the unwritten codes of silence that MMA athletes comply to hide the emotional and physical realities teammates make them endure.

For an MMA team, there’s a constant willingness to push each other toward that psychological and physical peak, that edge. For Rockhold and Cormier, Velasquez’s recent injury may have been a psychological prompt—the champion’s unwanted final push for his teammates to prove AKA’s continued worth on the modern stage.

Check out these related stories:

The Work: AKA

Javier Mendez: Letting a Winner Lead the Way

Breaking News: Cain Velasquez Out Due to Injury, Mark Hunt to Replace Him

Fightland Meets: Daniel Cormier