Javier Mendez: How the UAE Became His Next Big MMA Mission
Khaleej Times sat down with the Mexican-American to discuss life in the emirates, his mission to train the next generation of fighters, and the UAE's potential to be a regional capital for the mixed martial arts.
Mendez began his own fighting career in 1985 in the field of kickboxing and in 1992 won the ISKA international karate light cruiserweight world title, followed soon after by the 1995 light heavyweight title.
But his calling was leaning more towards coaching than fighting, so in 1996 he retired.
'I was already training fighters so I moved into being a gym owner and coach,' he said. 'My first introduction to UFC was with Brian Johnstone who became the first of many champions, and later I worked with Frank Shamrock who in 1998 won the UFC title (middleweight).'
Since then, the rest is history, and Mendez has become a global name in the sport.
'It was an easy transition as I was more of a coach than a fighter at heart - fighting used to kill me. I couldn't deal with the nerves. It was too much on me. At the very end when I got really good, the nerves were almost gone, then all of a sudden, when you conquer that I wanted the whole place to be packed as I was able to perform at the best level,' he recalled.
But he has a wealth of stars to his name, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, who he calls 'the Mohammed Ali of our era'. 'I coached him in the US in 2012 and I'm famous because of him,' he said. Mendez has also coached his cousin, Umar, another top contender in the UFC.
He first came to the UAE in 2019 when Nurmagomedov fought Dustin Poirier, at a time when Abu Dhabi was making UFC a key part of its sporting calendar. Since then, he has been spending an increasing amount of time in the country.
"I got to love it so much here and I have brothers in all the emirates so it feels like home here. I'm looking to do different kinds of business ventures,' he told Khaleej Times, the demand only growing.
'I see the fight community really growing because of what Sheikh Tahnoun created with the BJJ community. Abu Dhabi is the most concentrated BJJ community in the world. He opened up so many programmes with the government.
'There are something like 200,000 or more BJJ practitioners; he's put it in the schools, army, gyms. The government has done an unbelievable job of organising and structuring these programmes seeing its value on life, mental strength, self-defense, even if it's not needed here, but BJJ gives you confidence.'
Abu Dhabi hosting two UFC events a year has helped the sport grow so much that even Saudi Arabia is hosting events from UFC and PFL, Mendez said, seeing the huge potential of the sport for both entertainment and tourism.
Until recently, the sport was more popular among expats and foreign athletes coming to the emirates, but that is all starting to change, Dubai also picking up on the growing demand bringing fights from the PFL to the Coca Cola Arena while Abu Dhabi hosts the UFC.
Mendez has been coaching the young Emirati talent Hadi Omar for three years, who first came to him in California. He calls Omar 'the most well-rounded emirati fighter here', the young man fast becoming a role model for young Emiratis to look up to.
'People see him as a great athlete, a great individual to aspire to. It's important that Emiratis are starting to have one of their own to look towards. The young need to see someone like them to look up to. His career has gone really well and he's the rising star of the UAE right now with a proven model of success.'
Now, Mendez is advising organisations such as the Dubai Sports Council on how to create a formalised fight system with a nucleus of events that showcase the locals. 'It is needed here to really start titles coming,' he explained. 'You have to have a plan and direction to take it to the next level, without this, you won't accomplish anything.'
The future is bright for the country, he says, the potential for growth huge.'My dream is to bring the UAE into being a powerhouse in MMA, to make it a training hub and attract world-class fighters so I can also produce new fighters.'
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