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!

Showdown Fights: Breakout! Utah MMA Fighters to Showcase Their Skills

Showdown Fights: Breakout is on February 24! Absolute MMA will have two fighters in this show, Koffi Adzitso and Steve Sharp.

Koffi has been training regularly and is looking good. His punches are blindingly fast and his conditioning is top notch. Koffi always puts on crowd pleasing fights so don't miss your chance to watch and be a part of the excitement. You can get tickets in Koffi's section at Absolute MMA.

Steve is working hard and refining his timing as he had knee surgery not too long ago. He is always a dangerous fighter and brings knockout power to his fights. Another great fighter that knows how to put on a great show. Don't blink when Steve fights because it can be over that quick. Get your tickets and cheer for our team!

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.

Utah MMA Gym Sparks Weight Loss.

Ruben Cervantes is one of our student successes. Ruben has been a student here since March of 2011. In that time, he has lost 20 pounds and drastically improved his fitness. Ruben came to us with the goal of losing 30 pounds, going from 185 to 155. As you can see he is well on his way. One of our regulars for the morning class, Ruben trains four days a week, both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He trains hard, pushing himself when his body wants to give up and breaking the physical limits he used to have.

Ruben is one of many stories at Absolute MMA that have achieved their goal of weight loss. There are many more on our team that could tell a similar story. The positive attitude and teamwork that is present every day helps us all to better ourselves and each other.

We are proud of Ruben and all our teammates who have made progress with weight loss and improved fitness. We look forward to sharing more success stories with you. See you on the mat!

Absolute MMA Fighter, Jeff Nielson, wins with dominance.

Friday night was an exciting night for fight fans, especially teammates of Jeff Nielson from Absolute MMA. Jeff has been training regularly and with intensity for this fight and it showed on fight night. Jeff faced an opponent with a similar record and experience in Cy Nelson that night. Both Jeff and Cy made weight, looking to test each other on Friday night.

The fight started out with a few seconds of circling and a jab from both Cy and Jeff. Jeff clinched and pushed Cy against the fence and got the front takedown to mount right away. From there it was a dominant performance by The Absolute MMA fighter. Jeff controlled position, threw strikes and remained calm throughout the struggle. Cy tried to move and escape which only got him more strikes or more controlled for his efforts. Cy did end up bridging hard which gave Jeff back mount to be held until the end of the fight, striking at will and finishing with a rear naked choke in under three minutes of the first round!

Congratulations to Jeff Nielson on his win and on a dominant performance!

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New Historic Gardner Trax station allows easy access to Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

Attention all Absolute MMA friends and family in Sandy, West Valley, Downtown Salt Lake and the University Campus. Trax has just opened a new station at Gardner village, just a half block away from our gym! A train will stop every 15 minutes on weekdays and is a five minute walk away from the benefits of training at Absolute. For those of us that want to save money on gas and not get caught in traffic, this is a great option.

Here is the overall Trax and FrontRunner map.

http://www.rideuta.com/content/happenings.aspx

Here is the link for the weekday southbound Redline route.

http://legacy.rideuta.com/ridingUTA/viewSchedule.aspx?abbreviation=703&dir=0&service=4&signup=113&pdaView=False

This is the link for the weekday northbound Redline route.

http://legacy.rideuta.com/ridingUTA/viewSchedule.aspx?abbreviation=703&dir=1&service=4&signup=113&pdaView=False

absolutemma.com

Excellent weight loss at MMA gym in Utah!

Pedro, "Hey Ivan! How are you today?"
Ivan, "I'm doing so damn good it would kill a mortal man!"

Hey gang! Remember Ivan? He was our student spotlight a little while ago. This is an update on his progress. As of June 1, 2011 Ivan has lost 30 pounds in his three months with us! He has also been directed by his physician to cut his high blood pressure medication in HALF! Ivan continues to be positive in every interaction he has with the staff and every other member here. Ivan is famous for his quotes as you can tell from the above statement. What a remarkable story. Ivan is one of many of our students who have been able to achieve and far exceed their goals as a result of their dedication, hard work, consistency and the training they receive at Absolute MMA. We are proud to have Ivan with us as one of many who have used us as a means to make positive change in their life. I know of many more Absolute Team Members who can give similar accounts of their achievements. We are proud of you all.

Workin' hard at Absoute MMA Muay Thai.

http://www.absolutemma.com