TEMPE \u2013 As the popularity of combat fighting continues to grow, the Phoenix area has earned the reputation of mixed martial arts hotbed.<\/p>\n
With many high-level gyms and facilities, a university that produces top wrestling talent and a community that embraces MMA, Arizona has become a destination for fighters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Henry Cejudo, right, connects with Merab Dvalishvili during their bantamweight bout at the UFC 298 mixed martial arts event, Feb. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it’s evolved big time, dude,\u201d said Valley resident Henry Cejudo, one of the most decorated athletes in combat sports history, who announced his retirement this month. \u201cThe sport of mixed martial arts has gone mainstream. I can\u2019t go outside or anywhere to any part of the country, and I travel a lot all across the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Media executive Mark Shapiro, the president and COO of Endeavor sports and entertainment company, said at a conference in 2024 that MMA has replaced hockey as one of the \u201cbig four\u201d sports based on viewership.<\/p>\n
\n People are also reading\u2026\n <\/p>\n
Why do so many of its competitors call Arizona home? Some of those fighters started as athletes as Arizona State, a university whose wrestling program has become a feeder system for MMA. Think legends such as Dan Severn and Don Frye, two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, UFC Hall of Famer Ryan Bader and other standouts include Aaron Simpson, C.B. Dollaway and John Moraga.<\/p>\n
Arizona Combat Sports in Tempe is one of the gyms that has produced professional and amateur fighters.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1999, it offers classes and training in MMA, submission wrestling, Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu jitsu. Its mission is simple: \u201cBuild better athletes. Build better people.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Arizona Combat Sports, Muay Thai coach and professional fighter Cedric Katambwa has echoed the gym\u2019s mission through his coaching. Katambwa (4-1 pro record) coached for five years and has trained at Arizona Combat Sports for 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Arizona Combat Sports coach Cedric Katambwa leads fighters through drills during a training session in Tempe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Javier Delgado, Cronkite News<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a coach, my job is to make sure I get people ready for fights,\u201d Katambwa said. \u201cAnd those people that aren\u2019t necessarily looking for fights, you know, teach them the art and help them have a good time doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katambwa has competed in MMA since 2017 and made his professional debut in 2021. Throughout his time in Arizona, he\u2019s watched the landscape of combat sports change over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more opportunities now than there was whenever I started,\u201d he said. \u201cSeems like you could almost fight every month if you wanted to now. I believe the level of competition is better. \u2026 Some of the gyms that were not as good, are good now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MMA community in the desert extends beyond Tempe. Multiple other gyms that feature high level fighters and coaches include The MMA Lab in Phoenix, Fight Ready MMA in Scottsdale, Red Hawk Academy in Peoria and many others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so rewarding\u00a0\u2014 it means everything,\u201d said amateur fighter Zac North about training at Arizona Combat Sports. \u201cBeing able to get up early, get some work in with some people who also are about the grind, showing up, working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
North, who grew up in Maryland and began competing in amateur boxing in high school, found his way into Arizona\u2019s MMA scene after he began studying at ASU and moved to Tempe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s a hotbed, man,\u201d North said. \u201cYou go 15 minutes south, northwest of here, you\u2019re going to find either another Muay Thai gym or an MMA gym, any type of combat sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nyan Lopez, a Marine Corps veteran, began training at Arizona Combat Sports a year and a half ago after searching for things to do. He eventually turned to the gym as a place to train following limited wrestling experience in high school.<\/p>\n
Multiple options and the opportunity to level up in the fight game drove Lopez to Arizona Combat Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of just looking for a gym to where I know I could go pro eventually one day,\u201d said Lopez, a blue belt in jiu jitsu. \u201cI want to go on that route, and I saw that some of these fighters are like the best in the area, and I knew I wanted to push myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
While looking to eventually go professional, Lopez has trained as an amateur fighter and recently competed in Thailand. The MMA community in Arizona has prepared him, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say as a whole, they\u2019re definitely tight knit,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cYou can count on one another. They want you to grow. They don\u2019t want you to just not try your best and show up. They want you to push yourself every day, be on time, be consistent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Current superstar and former UFC champion Sean O\u2019Malley is one of the many UFC fighters to train at The MMA Lab. He now trains at the Red Hawk Academy where his coach, Tim Welch, founded the gym and is adding to the pipeline of talent.<\/p>\n
Fight Ready MMA has produced high end talent including former two-division UFC champion Cejudo and ranked UFC flyweight Tracy Cortez.<\/p>\n
\u201cArizona is a hot spot for MMA,\u201d said Dyla Rush, Cejudo\u2019s producer and an MMA reporter. \u201cI think that the three places around here are definitely Vegas, Colorado and Arizona. But the MMA scene has grown exponentially over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Arizona specifically, they have two of the best gyms in the country: Fight Ready MMA and Fitness \u2026 and the MMA Lab out in Glendale, Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n
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