Written by Hurtsbad Senior Analyst Todd Jackson

On the mats at American Kickboxing Academy there are more than a few world class athletes banging and rolling around. The pedigree of talent which calls AKA home makes it one of the world’s top MMA camps hands down.

The talent is abundant and the leadership that guides it brings out the best of everyone who calls AKA home. That leadership is reflected in a legendary coach like Javier Mendez.

A guy like Jav Mendez has held influence over some of the sport’s most prestigious careers and also some of tomorrow’s rising stars. From B.J. Penn to Daniel Cormier Jav has laid a foundation for many fighters to excel inside a cage.

Not just any coach can lead a man into battle. To be an MMA coach one must possess such qualities as leadership, influence, expectation, and excellence. At times a coach will see his own qualities reflect in one of his students. In these rare cases the honor of captain will be bestowed upon a pupil.

This captain will mirror all of the qualities of a coach and even bring his own set of unique potentials to the table. This captain is the perfect buffer between the one who leads and the one who follows. He has an understanding of expectation and execution.

At American Kickboxing Academy that man is Jon Fitch.

Fitch is a fighter who has soared above the highest peaks in this sport and also navigated the deepest valleys. Yet no matter where his career has led him, he stands tall with his chin high and remains a solid force in the UFC welterweight division and a leader for his peers at AKA.

Hurtsbad MMA had the honor of sitting down to speak with the AKA founder Javier Mendez and he opened up on his captain Jon Fitch. He talked about Fitch as a leader, as well as how he has bounced back from one of the toughest losses of his career against Johny Hendricks at UFC 141.

While fight fans may be quick the recall the stunning one punch knockout, what they quickly forget is Jon Fitch had not lost in over three years before he touched gloves with Hendricks. That loss was to pound for pound great Georges St. Pierre. Before that it was five years before his most recent loss.

The quick math there is in almost ten years, Jon Fitch has lost twice. That is a reputation that one KO loss can never erase no matter how short sighted MMA fans can sometimes be.

Jav talked about Fitch, and how he is moving forward from this trying obstacle along the road of a prestigious career.

“Jon is a true champion in his heart and in his mind.” Javier said. “He is going to jump through any adversity and get back on track. He's not somebody that is going to sit down wallow in what happened. Jon understands, he moves forward, and he gets better, he just gets back on.”

As Jon’s coach Jav gave his brief feelings about the situation then quickly reverted to the strength of his captain and how he will deal with the adversity. “For me, it was an unfortunate thing that happened. You can't say anything really other than he just got caught.”

Mendez went on to say, “Props to Johny Hendricks, his intention was to do that and he accomplished it. But Jon is not deterred one bit by it. He's going to get back on and get back out there where he needs to be. He's not one who is going to sulk on it.”

When requested, Mendez elaborated on just what exactly he admires and appreciates in his team leader.

He told Hurtsbad MMA this, “That's what I love about Jon Fitch. He's the hardest worker in the gym. Out of all my fighters I respect him the most. He's a perfect example of what a team captain should be inside and outside. I have the utmost respect for him and I know he will be back 100%.”

When asked how the camp responded to their captain during this hard time in his career Jav pointed to the support they offer as a representation of how they pick each other up during hard times. “They talk to him, call him up, say hey let's hang out. Josh Thompson is somebody who is right on task with that. There are a lot of guys who are really close to him. The whole team at AKA has the most respect for Jon Fitch out of anybody.”

Jav sees a quality in his team captain that has earned his utmost respect. Hearing a legendary leader of men talk about his camp’s captain reflects an appreciation that cannot be fully understood outside those gym walls by average fans or media.

Yet to hear Jav tell it, we get a picture that simply cannot be mistaken for anything other than the utmost respect and appreciation from one of the sport’s top coaches for one of his greatest assets inside that camp.

Mendez told Hurtsbad MMA, “He's always doing the right things for a team leader. When Jon talks, I listen. He has always got something good to say, it's never a negative, always a positive. And if it's a negative I better pay attention because he knows what he is talking about. The guys really look up to him as a leader and that is the reason why he is where he is at.”

To lead in a sport of alpha male mentalities is a tall order to say the least. To excel and succeed as Javier Mendez and his coaching staff have while leading all sorts of top tier talent is next to impossible without the perfect combination of ingredients.

It is extremely clear that one of those ingredients for the world class camp that is American Kickboxing Academy is Jon Fitch. This is a man who has made a reputation both before and during his MMA career as a guy who will not only meet expectations as a competitor but as a man who can dictate them as well. In doing so he earned himself the title of team captain in one of the world’s greatest MMA camps.

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