Mixed Martial Art Gym in Utah Inspires Success in High School Student

Student Spotlight for the month of April is one of our teenage members, Coley Armijo. Coley has been training Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since September of 2011. Coley has made some significant changes in his life and we would like to share his success with all. We asked Coley to tell us in his own words what his experience was at Absolute MMA. Here is a copy of what he wrote.

"My name is Coley Armijo. I am a member of Team Absolute. Being a member of Team Absolute has inspired me to make goals in and outside of the gym. Some goals I have made this year was to get on the honor roll and graduate high school. I worked real hard in school, doing homework in class, being to class on time and showing up everyday. Doing that got me the award of Student of the Month in September, on the honor roll first and second quarters and I graduated a quarter early. I'm very happy to achieve my goals the way I have. I proved to everyone but more importantly I proved to myself I could do it."

Way to go, Coley! One success Coley didn't talk about, but is just as impressive, is his weight loss. Coley started training at a weight of 188 lbs. and he now weighs 162 lbs.! Coley also plans on competing in his first Jiu Jitsu tournament on April 14th. Coaches Rob Handley and Pedro Sierra are already proud of Coley's achievements and his hard work. His continued positive attitude, hard work and willingness to help others has made him an important part of Team Absolute. Another success story based on consistent, deliberate practice and the decision to make positive changes in life. Great work, Coley! We are proud to call you "teammate."

Total Mayhem Hosts Mixed Martial Arts Fights in Utah

Steve "Razor" Sharp is fighting on April 7th! Steve's opponent will be "Disco" Dave Foley at Total Mayhem's We're Back II. The show will be held at The Gym on 2805 South 2025 West in West Haven, Utah. This will be an all ages event and fights will start at 7 pm.

Both of these Mixed Martial Art fighters have impressive and colorful records. Wrestling, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Boxing will all be on display in this bout. It should be a great night of fights so come out and support our Absolute MMA team member in his latest match. You know you don't want to miss it!

Mixed Martial Arts Training Culminates in Showdown Fights: Breakout Show

Showdown Fights: Breakout was a great show this last Saturday. Exciting fights and an electric atmosphere made for a great night.

Steve Sharp, exciting and fierce as always, finished Mario Espinoza in three minutes of the very first round. These boys talked about having a stand up, knockdown, knuckle and skull fight in their pre-fight interviews. They did not disappoint. Both fighters came out swinging with Steve getting the better of every exchange. Steve threw some monster leg kicks which had Mario limping and looking for a takedown as a way out. Not one to miss an opportunity, Steve cinched down a guillotine choke that ended the fight. Steve showed again why he is an exciting fighter out of the Absolute MMA camp with a quick and decisive finish.













Josh Burkman and Koffi Adzitso had a regular barn burner that went all three rounds. Both fighters laded hard punches with Burkman getting the better of the the takedowns. Neither gave an inch and gave everything they had to get the "W". Josh got the unanimous decision but both walked away with respect for each other and adoration from the crowd.

Showdown Fights: Breakout got notice from mmaweekly.com. They posted fight results and a mention of Burkman's win. Great show and great fights. We look forward to more of the same in the future.

High School Wrestler Uses Mixed Martial Arts to Achieve Goals

Many of you know Joel. He has been with us for several months now but took some time off to achieve his goals in wrestling with great results. When Joel was training with us he was a regular. He always worked hard and never put in less than 100% effort, training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts. We asked Joel to write about his wrestling experience and here is his response in his own words.

"At the age of 15 I started wrestling at Murray high school. I wasn’t very good, and didn’t know much and had a losing record. Inspired by our team captain Jordan Schroeder who had placed 2nd in state his senior year, he had pushed me to get better for my second year. My junior year I did much better but I ended up in 6th place at region, and did not qualify for the state tournament.

That summer I prepared myself for my senior year. My first step was to enter the doors of Absolute MMA. I trained almost every day throughout the summer, and I learned a lot and felt ready. Every day after preseason practices for my high school team I went straight to the gym to practice more wrestling. My first match of the season I hurt my elbow but came out with the win. The rest of the season I just mobbed through kids. Almost going undefeated at one tournament and placing 2nd in another. After my Christmas break I came back to wrestling and fell into a slump. I was able to pull out of it and get back in my groove. It was senior night at Murray high. I was told it was going to be a tough match to win, and I was looking forward to the challenge. My opponent was Hayden Rentfro from West Lake High. The kid I wrestled beat me 16 to 12. By 4 points, I told myself I would get the job done in the finals at region.

I pushed myself in the wrestling room and pushed myself in the weight room. Regions finally came, we entered West Lake High School and I was ready to wrestle. The first round I had a bye, the second round I pinned my opponent in 50 seconds. Watching the Westlake kid win his matches just got me pumped up and ready to go for my next match. Third round came and I beat my opponent with a major decision 11 to 3. After day 1 ended I was excited for the finals.

Day 2 was a long day, just sitting there and waiting to get on the mat. Throughout the day I warmed up and kept myself ready and focused on what to do. As the lights went dim and the spot light came on I was ready to go. After the 138 pound match was over I checked in at the table and stepped out on the mat. I was ready to wrestle the kid who thought he could beat me once again. I was focused and went 6 full minutes, I defeated him 15 to 9. I am so happy winning my first region championship title in my senior year, and winning the region tournament as a team. My lesson I learned was to believe in myself no matter what, listen and train hard, and when focused anything is possible."

Name: Joel Haro
Weight class: 145
Age:17
Record: 29-11
Memorable matches:
Finals match at Clash of the Titans Tournament-2nd place
Region Finals Match 1st place, 2012

We are very proud of Joel and his accomplishments and his desire to improve. He truly is an Absolute MMA Team Member. Congratulations on the Regional Championship!

Jiu Jitsu Seminar With a Grand Master

Grand Master Flavio Behring will be here in a week! He will be putting on a Jiu Jitsu seminar at Absolute Mixed Martial Arts in West Jordan, UT. The seminar will be on Saturday, January 28, from 10 am until 3 pm.

Grand Master Flavio has a very experienced teaching style. You don't have to have experience to learn some amazing things about Jiu Jitsu and yourself. If you do have experience you will gain the insight of a 64 year practitioner of the art. All levels are welcome. The stories he tells are of the days when Jiu Jitsu was forming and growing in Brazil. You get to speak with a man who was there from the very early days.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn and train with a true master. Contact Absolute MMA at 801.255.1166 for prices and availability.

Schedule Update for Kick Boxing, Muay Thai and Kettlebells.

We have made a few changes to the schedule about a month ago and want to make sure to get the word out again. The classes that have been affected are the Mixed Martial Arts classes on Tuesday and Thursday, Kick Boxing on Wednesday and Kettlebells on Saturday.

The 7:30 pm classes on Tuesday and Thursday have been changed from Mixed Martial Arts classes to Kick Boxing. These classes are usually taught by our Head Coach, Rob Handley. Rob Has studied Kick Boxing or Muay Thai for a very long time. He continues to train with top level Thai trainers like Sakasem, Ganyao Fairtex and Sangtiennoi. He has a wealth of experience and has a unique way of teaching which makes it easy to learn and then implement. All levels of experience are welcome.

Kick Boxing on Wednesday at 6:00 pm has been canceled. We will continue to have Takedown class at 6:00 pm which includes techniques from Judo and Wrestling. This class is also taught by Coach Rob. For those of you who don't know, Rob is the 2003 Bronze medal winner in the National Judo Championships and the Gold medal winner in 2005. Rob's approach to instruction allows the very advanced and the very beginner to grasp the technique easily and be able to use it in practice effectively within a short period of time.

Our Kettlebell class that was at 9:00 am has been moved to 10:00 am. Participation is growing and our students are seeing results from the hard work. This class uses the Sport Kettlebell format to improve overall strength, strength endurance, grip strength, cardiovascular endurance and joint range of motion. The class is technique based rather than strength based. This is a great way to learn a new skill set with resistance training and improve your overall fitness. Rob also teaches this class using the Fedorenko method. Rob is a Sport Coach and Master Fitness Trainer in the American Kettlebell Club organization.

Absolute Mixed Martial Arts; Grillguards Custom Mouthpiece Giveaway.

Absolute Mixed Martial Arts had a giveaway contest in December of last year for a Grillguards Custom Mouthpiece. The student with the most classes attended during the month would be the recipient of one custom mouthpiece valued at $120.00. We had great participation and the competition was fierce. The contest was close for the first two weeks and then one started to pull away from the pack. Rebecca Rodriguez put together a string of days with two and three classes a day. Kick Boxing, Kettlebells and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, sometimes all in one day are what contributed to her winning the prize and finishing with 26 classes for the month. This was a good 10 more classes than the closest runner up. Congratulations, Rebecca!

Grillguards Custom Mouthpieces are used by the majority of our students and 100% of our staff at Absolute MMA. We have found them to be the best quality equipment we can find in mouth protection. The mouthpieces are custom fit so we never have an issue with our protection being loose or not fitting correctly. Of all the people using these mouthguards; amateur and professional fighters, coaches and serious or occasioanal students, we have not had one come to us and say it was faulty or didn't live up to what Grillguards stated. Thanks to Grillguards Custom Mouthpieces for the great product and for supporting Absolute Mixed Martial Arts.