Rafael Cordeiro
At a glance
- Three-time Brazilian Muay Thai champion, fighter and coach at Chute Boxe Academy until 2009
- Founded Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California, in 2010
- Named MMA Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2016
Overview
Rafael Cordeiro is a Brazilian Muay Thai and MMA coach. He fought and coached at Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, where he stayed until 2009. Before moving into coaching full time, he won the Brazilian Muay Thai championship three times.
In 2010 he opened Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California, which became his base for preparing fighters for the UFC and other promotions. He was named MMA Coach of the Year in 2012 and again in 2016.
What you'll find
Cordeiro mostly speaks through his gym's accounts. The Kings MMA feed on X (@kings_mma) and the Instagram account @kingsmmaacademy cover life at the gym: fight camps, results for the team's fighters, announcements and clips from training sessions.
The website, kingsmma.com, presents the Huntington Beach gym and its classes. There is no regular show, series or podcast attached to these accounts. The value is a close look at how a head coach and his team work through a fight camp.
Why follow
The list of fighters he has coached spans several eras of the sport: Anderson Silva, Mauricio Rua, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Fabricio Werdum, Rafael dos Anjos and Cris Cyborg. Those fighters competed in very different divisions, from lightweight all the way up to heavyweight, with very different styles.
His foundation is Muay Thai, a discipline built on the clinch, knees, elbows and kicks. Following Kings MMA shows you how those tools get adapted to MMA, with wrestling and grappling layered on top, for fighters competing at the highest level.
MMA Official's take
The Kings MMA accounts are best for practitioners and fans who want to understand how a striker prepares for a fight, rather than for anyone looking for breaking news. Start with @kings_mma on X to see which of the gym's fighters are on upcoming cards, then check the training clips on Instagram during fight week.
To get more out of it, rewatch an Anderson Silva or Wanderlei Silva fight from the years Rafael Cordeiro was in their corner, then compare it with the sessions the gym posts today. You will spot the clinch and striking drills that carry over from one generation of fighters to the next.