5 great MMA fighters who are brutal to train with

#4. MMA pioneer and professional wrestler Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki (left) in a time where he sported a sensible haircut

The MMA veteran, Pancrase co-founder and current New Japan Pro Wrestling star’s real-life attitude is apparently very similar to what he plays on screen. An elite level wrestler, Suzuki’s MMA career left many calling him a glass cannon. While his grappling and submissions were often insurmountable, a few well-placed shots to the Suzukigun leader could end the fight before it had even really begun.

When it came to training others, Suzuki was a big believer in throwing his pupils into the deep end. When a young Ken Shamrock first trained with Suzuki in a Pancrase dojo, he had this to say:

“He choked me out, he heel hooked me, he beat the crap out of me for 30 minutes.”

Not so much training as it was straight-up brutalizing, the force with which Suzuki would wrench on students’ limbs was nightmare-worthy. The grappler quickly garnered a poor reputation among his fighting peers for his sadistic love of punishing sparring partners.

#3. Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez

What is it with the AKA camp?

Cain Velasquez, one of the most outstanding heavyweight fighters in MMA history, frequently found himself derailed by severe injury. As previously mentioned, the AKA’s high-intensity approach to training, in which MMA fighters essentially went into all-out war against one another day-to-day, has a lot to answer for.

For Velasquez, the complications didn’t end there however. Footage of Cardio Cain engaging in reckless strength training with poor form has become notorious over the years. Exercises included absurdly heavy kettlebell swings destined to throw his lower back out and an overload of knee-wrecking leg extensions. Needless to say, Velasquez’s strength and conditioning was not joint-health friendly at all.

As brutal as he was on himself, Velasquez’s sparring prowess is the stuff of legend. With cardio for days, Velasquez would pick exhausted sparring partners apart with ease. As impressive as these displays were, the lack of breaks, safety and recovery time ultimately sabotaged both Velasquez and many of the people he trained with.