Javier Mendez responds to Josh Koscheck's fiery comments about AKA

The war between Josh Koscheck and American Kickboxing Academy (AKA0 coach Javier Mendez is heating up.

Earlier this week, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight number one contender, who left the San Jose-based mixed martial arts (MMA) gym because Mendez "wasn't a real coach," admitted to being a "dick" and hoped his old training facility "burned to the ground."

See those incendiary comments right here.

Now, Mendez is speaking out on his former pupil, and tells MMA Fighting that he wasn't "shocked" by the verbal assault and it "won't affect him" because he still has a team to worry about.

"When you've spent eight years with an individual like Josh, I think that nothing is gonna surprise you with him. Actually he really hates me, so it didn't shock me. That's him, that's who he is. I just wish that if it does burn down that I'm not in it! That's the person he is. It's who he is. I'm not gonna let it affect me. Hey, we're not friends. He doesn't want to be my friend, he made it very obvious, so I'm just moving on. I've got a team to focus on and we got a great team. Anybody that wants to go train with him is welcome to go, some of those guys are his friends and that's never gonna change."

Hear more from Mendez, including why, in some respects, he's "at fault," after the jump.

For more on Josh Koscheck's highly-publicized split with the AKA gym click here.