Two New MMA Lab/JCBJJ Purple Belts

On Wednesday, October 26 we added two new members to our purple belts; Chad Wilson and Jarret Aki. Both guys have been valuable members of the team for many years and are very tough on the mat. Chad just got done winning a silver medal in his weight division and gold in the absolute to wrap up his blue belt competition career. As if that isnt enough, Chad,  and his wife Sarah, just gave birth to twins! Congrats on a great couple of months for the Wilsons!

Jarret Aki is the secret ingredient at the MMA Lab, being the strength and conditioning coach to the MMA Lab Elite fight team.  He is always available to help everyone and is a wonderful person.  He has been training Jiu Jitsu the entire time the MMA Lab has been open and is the longest tenured staff member there. Thank you for everything Jarret, you are awesome!

Congratulations to the whole team, we do not get to these places in our lives without teammates to support us.  See you on the mat!

L to R: (bottom row) Joe Gemma, Chad Wilson, Ben Henderson, Renato Freitas, Jarret Aki, Chris Zubrycki

(top row) Jason Witkowski, Chris Gruetzemacher, Travis Jeffrey, Luis Ordonez, Mike Martin

Wednesday night class at the MMA Lab

JCBJJ Technique of the Month: October

Better late than never, right?  Sorry about the delay, but Eric and Isaac Aguilar show us the flying armlock this month.  These two boys, Eric (14) and Isaac (16), are maniacs on the mat and improve every time they train.  We taught them this technique on a Thursday, and on the next Saturday they caught the  flying armlock three times between them in a tournament! Besides being awesome competitors, they are great people and we love having them at the MMA Lab.

Hope you enjoy the technique!

Busy Weekend for the MMA Lab Team!

On Friday night, Saul Castro made his amateur debut at Bad Boy Boxing.  Saturday the IBJJF Southwest Classic began, Efrain fought at Bellator, Kelley fought at RITC and our own Rick Roufus fought in Las Vegas.  Sunday morning the tournament continued bright and early.

How did it go?

Saul won his debut by dominating him and finishing him in the third via TKO.  Kelley finished his fourth opponent in four fights by putting the guy to sleep with a Von Flue choke.

Rick Roufus won with an incredible spinning backfist in the third round of his fight.  Efrain finished his opponent with a mounted guillotine in the first round.

And , finally, the JCBJJ competition team finished third at the tournament, garnering 13 gold medals throughout the weekend.

We are so proud of all our competitors and their efforts in their competition. Win or lose we will always fight to the end in any competition we have.

Congratulations to everyone,what an awesome way to spend the weekend!

Click on the photo below to see some pictures from the weekend.

 

Kelley Oser runs record to 4-0 at RITC 156

Kelley Oser won his fourth amateur fight  on Saturday night at RITC 156. Kelley has been working very hard in the gym and it was great to see his effort pay off with a resounding first round finish.

All four of Kelley’s wins have been finishes, and the team is talking about him turning pro sometime next year.  Keep up the good work Kelley, we are very proud of you!!

Efrain Escudero wins at Bellator 55

On Saturday, October 22 in Yuma, Arizona, Efrain “Hecho en Mexico” Escudero ran his incredible MMA record to 18-3 with a win in the Bellator event.  Efrain’s opponent, Cesar Avila, was highly touted with a 7-1 record, but Effy made quick work of him, finishing him in under 2 minutes of the first round with a mounted guillotine. Efrain has been working hard to improve every day and his work is paying off as he is 5-1 since being released from the UFC.

I have a feeling that we will be seeing Efrain back under the big lights sometime very soon.  Congratulations Efrain, we are all very proud of you and your hard work!

Saul Castro’s Win Last Night at Bad Boy Boxing

We are still excited about Saul’s win last night, and now the highlight video is ready!  Hope you all enjoy these behind the scenes look at our fighters.

Way to go Saul!

Kelley Oser to fight in Rage in the Cage Tomorrow Night

Lab Elite amateur fighter Kelley Oser is set to fight his fifth fight tomorrow night at the Wild Horse Pass Casino.  Kelley has been working on his skills diligently, adding more strength and conditioning training and upping his training on the ground.  Kelley has a 4-0 amateur record and has his sights set on his pro debut in 2012.  He has been a great teammate and sparring partner and we are all excited to see his hard work come to fruition as he continues his MMA career.

Good Luck Kelley,  you are going to be great!

Efrain Escudero to Compete in Bellator/Yuma tomorrow

Efrain Escudero is set to compete in the Bellator Fighting Championships on Saturday, October 22.  Effy has made weight and is anxious to up his already impressive record to 18-3 with a win tomorrow night.  Fighting Cesar Avila, Hecho en Mexico looks to up his post UFC record to 5-1, and catch the eye of the organization that released him a little over a year ago.  The fight is set to be streamed over the internet on Spike.com.

The team has great respect for Cesar, but we know that Efrain will come home with a win tomorrow, and will soon be back in the UFC.

Good luck Effy, your team is behind you!

Brand New MMA Lab/JCBJJ Blue and Orange Belts

This week at the Lab, two awesome team members received promotions.  Deonn Talley got his blue belt and Eric Aguilar got his orange belt.

Both guys have worked very hard and are very deserving of these promotions.  Good job guys, very proud to have you as part of the team!

Eric Aguilar

Deonn Talley

Saul Castro wins Amateur Debut

Tonight at the Fort McDowell Casino outside of Scottsdale, AZ, Saul Castro began his mma career with a win.  Competing in the Bad Boy Boxing event, Saul dominated the fight with his wrestling and jiu jitsu for the first two rounds. Early in the third, Saul landed a hard hook and dropped his opponent.  Seeing his opportunity, Saul pounced on the hurt fighter and scored a TKO in the third round.  Cornered by Smooth Ben Henderson and Chris “Gritz” Gruetzemacher, Saul was composed throughout was impressive in his debut.

At 19 years old, the future is very bright for this young man and we are very proud to have him as part of our team.  Congratulations Saul!!

Saul right after his victory

These guys define the team concept; with Gritz and Ben post-fight

Relaxing with Gritz before the show