7 Best MMA Gyms in the World | Simply Explained
In this article we will go over the best MMA gyms in the world, what fighters are in these gyms and what makes the gym unique.
Table of Contents
- American Top Team
- ONX Sports
- City Kickboxing
- American Kickboxing Academy
- Sanford MMA
- Kings MMA
- Serra Longo Fight Team
1. American Top Team (ATT)
Location
Coconut Creek, Florida.
About the Gym
One of the largest and most recognizable gyms in the world today, ATT has formed a roster of absolute killers.
Founded in 2001 by Dan Lambert, in a period of 20 years he's assembled arguably the best gym in the world and developed multiple world champions and countless contenders.
💎 Squad!@DustinPoirier @ThiagoAlvesATT @DyahAliDavis @mikebrownmma #RobRoveta@SabahHomasi #MrsPoirier #americantopteam #thediamond #poirier #conor #mcgregor #trilogy pic.twitter.com/y9pmYQ1mjm
— American Top Team (@AmericanTopTeam) July 11, 2021
Although the renowned gym is located in Coconut Creek, they have over 40 other 'chains' of ATT gyms around the world.
Notable Fighters
- Dustin Poirier
- Amanda Nunes
- Petr Yan
- Joanna Jedrzejczyk
- Jorge Masvidal
- Yoel Romero
- Thiago Santos
- Aleksandar Rakic
- Kayla Harrison
- Glover Teixeira
- Junior Dos Santos
- Austin Vanderford
- Adriano Moraes
- Renato Moicano
- Douglas Lima
- Amanda Ribas
2. ONX Sports
Location
Denver, Colorado.
About the Gym
Trevor Wittman was a coach at several gyms prior to creating his own and settling down with ONX Sports.
One of the unique aspects to his approach is that he focuses on coaching only a few fighters, in order to give them all of the attention necessary.
Trevor Wittman leads Rose Namajunas and Kamaru Usman to two spectacular wins. What a run he’s on as coach.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 25, 2021
This allows him to be able to formulate game plans tailored to each fighter, and help them improve on their skills on a daily basis.
The same can't be said for other gyms, where there are so many fighters that coaches have to delegate days to certain fighters in order to keep up with all of their fighters.
Notable Fighters
- Kamaru Usman
- Rose Namajunas
- Justin Gaethje
3. City Kickboxing
Location
Auckland, New Zealand.
About the Gym
City Kickboxing was founded in 2007 by Eugene Bareman and Doug Viney.
This gym has gained massive notoriety in recent years from the emergence of champions Adesanya and Volkanovski.
City Kickboxing vs everyone!
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) October 10, 2019
It’s cuz of these man and their efforts that I am here today. Without them my skill set would not be what it is today.
I am the canvas, these are the artists 🎨 pic.twitter.com/8bAWCG6wz7
For a long time, it was thought that the best MMA gyms were only in the United States, Brazil, and Thailand.
City Kickboxing has proven that this is untrue as their fighters continue to have massive success.
Notable Fighters
- Israel Adesanya
- Alexander Volkanovski
- Dan Hooker
- Brad Riddell.
4. American Kickboxing Academy
Location
San Jose, California.
About the Gym
Founded in 1985, AKA has produced champions and studs for quite a long time.
Ironically despite the name, most of the dominant fighters it produced have been known for their dominant wrestling along with their ground and pound.
Both Khabib and Daniel Cormier have become coaches (after retirement) at this gym alongside another coach and owner, Javier Mendez.
Notable Fighters
- Khabib Nurmagomedov
- Daniel Cormier
- Cain Velasquez
- Luke Rockhold
- Islam Mahkachev
5. Sanford MMA
Location
Deerfield Beach, Florida.
About the Gym
A fairly recent gym, Sanford MMA opened in 2017 and was founded by Henri Hooft and Greg Jones.
Hoof actually left the now defunct 'Blackzilians' and some of the fighters who originally had trained there, followed him to Sanford MMA.
Fun little technique session on a Tuesday! #sanfordmma #incrediwear #blackriflecoffee #PSORITE #adidaswrestling #KillCliff pic.twitter.com/oOMVFGPAu8
— SanfordMMA (@MmaSanford) August 18, 2020
In a short time, this gym has created a solid roster composed of former champions and a roster full of contenders.
Notable Fighters
- Gilbert Burns
- Michael Chandler
- Luke Rockhold
- Robbie Lawler
- Vitor Belfort
- Vicente Luque.
6. Kings MMA
Location
Huntington Beach, California.
About the Gym
Founded by Rafael Cordeiro in 2010, Kings MMA is widely regarded as one of the top gyms in the world.
Cordeiro was a successful martial artist in Brazil before moving to the United States and founding his gym.
Today's training! Kings MMA! Treinamento do dia na Kings! pic.twitter.com/FvxhHaXm2K
— Rafael Cordeiro (@kings_mma) April 18, 2017
Naturally he has attracted a lot of successful Brazilian fighters, but he has also had a lot of recent success with fighters from all over the world including American, Italian and Georgian fighters.
In only a period of around 10 years, this gym has been able to assemble a roster full of very competitive fighters at the top of the rankings, world champions and others contending for world championships.
Notable Fighters
- Cris Cyborg
- Rafael Dos Anjos
- Marvin Vettori
- Kelvin Gastelum
- Beneil Dariush
- Giga Chikadze
7. Serra Longo Fight Team
Location
Long Island, New York.
About the Gym
Originally formed by Matt Serra and Ray Longo, they've expanded to having two gyms below it including Serra BJJ Academy and Longo-Weidman MMA.
It’s always great to be on the mats with @wonderboymma and @raythompson @upstate_karate
— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) April 14, 2021
I loved having @raylongomma in town! He's the best, and I would be nowhere in this game without his coaching and friendship!
Thank you for the great work!
Ten days out till @ufc 261. pic.twitter.com/grunkj3qkk
Matt Serra scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history at UFC 69 to beat George St. Pierre to become the welterweight champion.
Upsets may just run in this gym as a few years later Chris Weidman would score another giant upset vs Anderson Silva to become the middleweight champion.
This gym is growing very fast and they are someone to keep an eye on.
Notable Fighters
- Matt Serra
- Chris Weidman
- Aljamain Sterling
- Al Iaquinta