In the world of MMA, fans are quick to play the blame game with coaches. After Ronda Rousey’s second straight loss, a KO loss to Amanda Nunes, her coach at Glendale Fight Club, Edmond Tarverdyan, took a lot of heat. People accused him of preparing her incorrectly, not working her boxing enough, having a bad game plan and a slew of other accusations. Fans and pundits alike began to plot her next move to another camp, with some websites even polling readers.
If all doesn’t go well for bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi in his UFC debut, he and the MMA world will have a much harder time blaming his trainer. Younger brother of famed Tristar head coach, Firas Zahabi, Aiemann remarks that years of working with his brother have them thinking the same on a number of levels.
We are usually on the same page with game planning. He has been teaching me how to be a coach for years,” he said during a recent appearance on the Top Turtle Podcast. “So, he’s the one who taught me how to study tape, study opponents and what to look for as their weaknesses or strengths.”
This coach’s mindset undoubtedly is an advantage that has paid off in the cage. Aiemann steps into the Octagon this month for his UFC debut with an unblemished 6-0 record that includes all stoppages. However, should he question his thinking at any point, he enjoys the other benefits of having one of the top coaches in all of MMA as a brother.
What’s great about having him as my brother is that I get to put extra time in for a much cheaper price,” he said, laughing. “I get a little extra help, extra hours with him. I call him, I pick his brain. If I text him something, he gets back to me really soon and I really appreciate it.
It also doesn’t hurt to be living in the gym that his brother owns and he trains in and be able to get advice from legendary fighter George St. Pierre. We’ll all have to wait until February 19th at UFC Fight Night 105: Halifax to see just how much these advantages carry over into the Octagon.
To hear the whole interview with Aiemann in which he talks about advice George St.-Pierre gave him and why he cross trains with the Danaher Death Squad, listen below [interview starts at 19:30]
Author Daniel Vreeland is a co-founder of the Top Turtle Podcast, and a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu at New England Submission Fighting in Amherst, Massachusetts.
