As some of you may know, my MMA career was met with an unfortunate and regrettable situation in June of this year, where I acted unsportsmanlike and did something I immediately regretted.

I take full responsibility for my actions, but my manager and I (among others in the sport) do feel that the punishment – a $1,900 fine and a year-long suspension by the New Mexico Athletic Commission (NMAC) – is severe. We appealed the NMAC’s decision but to no avail. We were told earlier this month that the suspension stands, and that I’m unable to compete and make my living as a mixed martial artist (in any state or country) for one year.

For a short time after this whole incident, I considered retiring completely from MMA. A year seemed like such a long time to be on the bench, especialy considering I spent the first part of 2014 laying in a hospital bed and then rehabbing from a ruptured appendix. It’s been a long and unexpected road since that turn of events about 11 months ago. I had been on a good run and was finally climbing up the ranks in the UFC. What a difference a year makes.

After some thought, I just couldn’t come to terms with this being it. It wasn’t the way I wanted to go out; it is NOT the way I will go out. I’d rather train through this year and come back to MMA with more knowledge and a few more medals. My hunger to compete and to prove my capabilities is still here, and it isn’t going anywhere.

That’s why I’m going to compete at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Long Beach BJJ Pro in December. This will be my second venture into jiujitsu competition. In 2012, as a blue belt, I won the IBJJF Adult World Championships in a grueling day of competition – 7 matches over about 6-7 hours. I was upgraded to purple that day (and to brown this past July by my coach and mentor Master Ricardo Liborio). I’m looking forward to bringing the same attitude and getting the same results at the Long Beach Pro this year, with your help!

It’s always been my goal to retire into sport jiu-jitsu after my MMA career, and given that I have some “free time” right now, I thought I’d get a head start. I’ve come to really dig jiu-jitsu, as most people who give it a serious look do. It’s like a physical chess game, a puzzle for your body. I tell my students at American Top Team HD that the real reason everyone practices jiujitsu is so they can come in the gym and feel like a ninja, and I’m no different. Other kids wanted to be football players or doctors, maybe basketball players; I wanted to be a NINJA. Enter jiu-jitsu. In the wake of my suspension, I can really focus on my ninja skills and go to ninja competitions where I show everybody that I am, in fact, a ninja.

My first ninja pursuit was wrestling, which I started at age 10. I pursued wrestling through high school, where I was on Blue Spring High School’s State Championship squad, and in college at the University of Nebraska, until 2004 when I discovered jiuitsu. During my time as an exchange student in Central America, I ran across a Ryan Gracie blackbelt by the name of Mauro Sergio. Mauro quickly recognized that my friend Brandon and I had grappling experience (wrestling), and he allowed us to come and train in exchange for wrestling instruction.

I spent a lot of time training and learning from Mauro but wouldn’t put on a gi (the traditional ninja uniform) for another 5 years. In 2009, I fought Andre Galvao in the quarterfinals of the DREAM Welterweight Tournament. I won the fight, but not before surviving many positional and submission attacks. I knew Andre’s background as a world-class jiujitsu competitor, so I immediately went gi shopping & wandered into Cleber Luciano’s studio in Huntington Beach, CA. I’ve been training jiujitsu ever since.

In 2010 I got invited to come train at the American Top Team (ATT) headquarters in Coconut Creek, FL. That has been the location of my pre-fight training camps ever since, and I’ve become especially close with Master Ricardo Liborio, a blackbelt & Brazilian Jiujitsu legend whom I admire very much. In May of this year, my friend and fellow MMA fighter LC Davis and I opened up our own ATT location – American Top Team HD. So now I can not only train jiujitsu but also coach and teach others the skills of a ninja.

How to Help

I’ve set a goal of $2,500 based on the costs of air travel to Long Beach, lodging, food, tournament entry fee, etc. I would also like to bring along a videographer to document the entire trip, so you all can see the process.

You can help me get to California by contributing on my RallyMe page. Any amount will help and is much appreciated.

My Successes

July 2014 Promoted by brown belt

2012 IBJJF Adult Blue Belt World Champion

2012 Midwest Jiujitsu Champion (weightclass & absolute)

2009 US Open No-gi Champion, 2nd Absolute (unlimited weight class)

Thanks in advance to:

American Top Team HD

Gazelle Incorporated

Scramble

American Top Team

Sheex

 

Any help spreading the word would be greatly appreciated through Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc. I appreciate your support.

Our grand opening seminar at American Top Team HD yesterday was a success, we are excited to announce! We had a great turnout, and it was awesome for us to see so many people interested in jiu jitsu and eager to learn from Master Ricardo Liborio, one of the best to ever do it. Liborio surprised me by awarding me my brown belt at the start of the gi seminar. I’m so humbled and honored to receive the belt from Liborio, as I consider him my mentor and look up to him with much respect. He was also by my side day and night when I was in the hospital in January with a ruptured appendix. I don’t know what I would have done without him. Thank you Libo for making the trip out to Kansas City to do the seminars. We are so appreciative to have had you here and to have you in our lives! See you in Florida soon. (More photos from the Grand Opening on the ATTHD Facebook page)

American Top Team, one of the most reknowned MMA academies in the country, is pleased to celebrate the grand opening of its first location in the Kansas City metro: American Top Team HD, located conveniently in Lenexa at 11227 Strang Line Rd. The gym’s owners include local MMA fighters LC Davis (Bellator MMA) and Jason High (DREAM, Strikeforce and UFC veteran).

This Saturday, July 19th, American Top Team HD will host a grand opening Brazilian Jiu Jitsu seminar with black belt Master Ricardo Liborio, head instructor and co-founder of the American Top Team headquarters academy. In addition to the seminar, there will be a meet and greet with the American Top Team HD instructors and Master Liborio, gym tours and a raffle for prizes, including free personal training sessions, equipment and more!

American Top Team HD is focused on making the fun and fitness of mixed martial arts accessible to the entire family.

“We offer a different type of class from other cookie-cutter gyms,” said Davis, “People of all genders, shapes, sizes and experience can expect to get a good workout here as well as learn new skills.”

“We are anti-boring,” said High, “And we offer a close-knit community of people looking to challenge themselves and have a healthy lifestyle. LC and I have been athletes our whole life, and we want others to experience the benefits of the discipline and sense of accomplishment that goes along with that.”

In addition to being a great place to get and stay fit, American Top Team HD fields amateur and pro MMA fighters. The gym is also a certified USA Wrestling Club for kids ages 6 through high school. American Top Team HD wrestlers practice regularly and compete in tournaments throughout the year.

The gym offers over 25 classes per week as well as open gym time and one-on-one personal training sessions with professional fighters of all disciplines. The new facility has 2,000 square feet of mat space as well as treadmills and other workout equipment for people of all fitness levels.

For more information about the Grand Opening and seminar with Master Ricardo Liborio, click here.

For more information about American Top Team HD, including monthly specials, visit www.AmericanTopTeamHD.com, call 913-428-8420 or email info@americantopteamhd.com.