San Diego Jiu Jitsu World Champion Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro will be fighting in Japan again on May 2nd in his 2nd professional MMA fight in the Japanese MMA organization known as Sengoku. Alongside brother Saulo Ribeiro, Xande is the co-owner of the world famous University of Jiu Jitsu. However, he has been training for his MMA fights at The Arena, a MMA school and fight training gym in San Diego.

Ribeiro, the 2008 Absolute and Heavyweight World Jiu Jitsu Champion, has an unprecedented 7 World Championships, the greatest record of any Jiu Jitsu competitor in history. Although he will compete in the 2009 World Jiu Jitsu championships, as well as the 2009 ADCC World Submission Grappling Championships, Ribeiro has also set his sights on achieving success in the MMA arena. With only one MMA fight under his belt to date, he will be facing Kei Yamamiya, former Light Heavyweight King Of Pancrase. Yamamiya is an extremely seasoned competitor, with 66 fights including 34 wins.

Facing such an experienced fighter, Ribeiro has had to train MMA in San Diego daily at The Arena gym. He has had the benefit of working with experienced teammates, including UFC star Diego Sanchez, WEC contender Rani Yahya, Strikeforce fighters Fabricio “Morango” Camoes and Waylon Kennel, Bellator fighter Diego Garijo, Affliction fighter Pat Speight, and Joe Duarte, former contestant of The Ultimate Fighter.

The Sengoku VIII fight can be seen in the U.S. on HDNet, airing on Saturday May 2nd from 12am to 5am.

About The Arena – San Diego MMA School / Fight Training Gym

The Arena is a MMA school and fight training gym in San Diego California that focuses on fighters and those who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers high-level training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. For more information on The Arena, call 619-222-5554 or go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com or http://www.MySpace.com/TheArenaMMA

The Arena MMA Team, Southern California’s Premier Fight Team, was featured in the latest edition (Volume 24, Isssue 3) of Revolt in Style magazine. Highlighting how The Arena has become THE gym for pro fighters training MMA in San Diego, the article profiles some of The Arena’s fighters and their upcoming bouts. The full text of the article follows:

Welcome to The Arena – Putting San Diego MMA On The Map

by Taff Davies

When I first visited San Diego’s newest MMA gym, The Arena, 3 months ago, I wrote an article afterwards about how San Diego was rapidly becoming a hotspot for Mixed Martial Arts training. The article detailed some of the famous trainers in the city such as Saulo Ribeiro (6x World Jiu Jitsu Champion). It also described how the San Diego climate and lifestyle was drawing some of the best fighters from all over the world.

What I didn’t realize when I wrote that article was how quickly The Arena would help prove my point about the explosion of interest in the San Diego MMA world. In 3 short months, The Arena has become a magnet for the professional San Diego MMA scene, with support from its corporate sponsors including Sinister Brand and Built To Fight. Although not a large commercial facility like some of its competitors, The Arena has everything a MMA gym should, while offering a much more personal environment. That seems to work in its favor, at least as far as the professional fighters go.

Also, unlike other gyms that concentrate more on fitness classes, The Arena caters to everyday people who want to train like fighters. These people want to get the benefits of exercise while actually learning real fighting skills. In this area, The Arena more than delivers, with classes including Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu, and Wrestling. The instructors are all top-notch; all of them either active or former professional fighters.

The Arena’s focused approach is obviously working because their professional MMA team is loaded with talent and their daily practices are packed. An argument could be made that The Arena Team is now the best in Southern California and one of the top 10 MMA teams in the country. It includes Diego Sanchez, Rani Yahya, Xande Ribeiro, Fabricio “Morango” Camoes, Joe Duarte, Pat Speight, Rick Slaton, Waylon Kennell, Diego Garijo, Ryan Burwick, Casey Ryan, and many others. It’s also a very active team, with members fighting in the UFC, WEC, Affliction, Strikeforce, and others.

In fact, Arena team member Rani Yahya (13-4) just fought in WEC 40 on 4/5, winning in 1:07 of the 1st round and Waylon Kennel debuted in Strikeforce on 4/12. Many other fights are coming up shortly for The Arena’s fighters, including Xande Ribeiro in Sengoku on 5/2, Diego Garijo in Bellator on 5/8, Ryan Burwick in The Badlands Beatdown on 5/9, Fabricio “Morango” Camoes in Strikeforce on 5/15, Joe Duarte in Wargods at Viejas Casino on 5/30, and of course, Diego Sanchez in UFC on 6/20.

With such an active team, The Arena will be drawing attention in the months to come. Along with other San Diego MMA gyms like Alliance MMA in Chula Vista, which features fighters like Brandon Vera and Dominic Cruz and trainer Eric Delfierro, The Arena should continue to draw some of the best fighting talent into San Diego, putting the city firmly on the MMA map.

For more info on The Arena, call them at 619-222-5554 or go online to their website at www.The ArenaMMA.com or their MySpace page at www.MySpace.com/TheArenaMMA

About The Arena and San Diego MMA

Located directly next to the San Diego Sports Arena, The Arena is a mixed martial arts school and fight training gym located in San Diego California that focuses on fighters and those who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers high-level training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. For more information, please visit The Arena – San Diego MMA.

Rani Yahya, a member of The Arena MMA Fight Team, as well as their head Jiu Jitsu instructor, won easily in his WEC 40 fight against Eddie Wineland, submitting Wineland in 1:07 of the first round by rear naked choke. Winner of the “Submission of the Night” award , it was Yahya’s 4th win in the WEC.

About Rani Yahya

Rani Yahya is 13-4 as an MMA pro, having fought multiple times in the WEC and K-1. He is also one of the world’s best submission wrestlers, winning 3 Jiu Jitsu World Championships and the under 143 lb. ADCC World Championships in 2007 at the age of 22, triumphing over famed jiu jitsu fighter Leo Vieira. He plans to compete in the ADCC’s in 2009, as well as continuing his winning streak as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter

About The Arena and San Diego MMA

Located directly next to the San Diego Sports Arena, The Arena is a mixed martial arts school and fight training gym located in San Diego California that focuses on fighters and those who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers high-level training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. For more information, please visit The Arena – San Diego’s MMA School.