Pearson on Cormier’s injury: AKA fighters spar too hard, they need a coach to reassess training

Friday night, news broke that Daniel Cormier sustained an injury and was forced out of his title bout against Anthony Johnson at UFC 206. With Luke Rockhold also bowing out from UFC Melbourne, this marks the second cancelled main event this month from an injury to an American Kickboxing Academy fighter.

Cain Velasquez, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and other fighters from the talent rich MMA camp have also struggled with injuries in their careers. While no one can really question AKA’s results after churning out numerous UFC champions and contenders throughout the years, some have speculated whether the high amount of injuries is due to how they’re training.

“They’re a gym full of killers,” Pearson said when asked about AKA during the UFC Melbourne Fan Q&A. “I definitely think that they spar too hard, I definitely think that they fight too much.

“I definitely think that they need a coach there to help with the scheduling, the timeline of how, and the way of training — it’s kind of professional, and isn’t professional. You know what I mean? You’ve got to fight to get ready to fight, but there’s levels of where you take it in the gym, and I think they definitely need to look at that level.”

Related: Anthony Johnson reacts to Cormier pulling out of their title bout

Former UFC champ Miesha Tate also spoke about the topic. While she thinks the gym churns out a lot of champions, they’re also risking a lot by pushing too hard.

“It’s a fine line to walk,” Tate said. “You push yourself to the limit, but not get injured and still be as ready as you can be. I think there at AKA, they train so hard, that’s why there’s so many of the best fighters coming out of the gym. But like I said, it’s like playing with fire.

“It’s hard to balance that. They want to push themselves everyday, and they’re competitive, and that’s why they are the best, that’s why champions are coming out of that gym,” she said. “But then again, it’s risk vs. reward”