Rich “Super” Power – A Force to Be Reckoned With

By Taff Davies

With so much focus on MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) these days, more and more people are being drawn away from the United States’ original combat sport, Boxing. If you asked fight fans to name the top 3 pound for pound fighters in MMA, many would be able to name BJ Penn, George St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva. Would they be able to do the same for Boxing? It’s gotten to the point where some sports experts are predicting that Boxing will eventually drift off into obscurity while MMA continues its dizzying climb as the world’s fastest growing sport.

However, as MMA and its practitioners have evolved, the game has changed. No longer is the sport dominated by ground fighters and no longer does Grappling win the majority of the matches. Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling are still very important skills for fighters to have in their arsenal, but now Boxing is just as important for success in the Octagon. MMA fighters’ abilities to neutralize ground attacks are constantly increasing, which is why there are more and more knockouts as the level of Boxing increase. Ironically, as long as MMA continues to grow, the need for solid Boxing abilities will continue to grow with it.

Enter Rich “Super” Power, San Diego’s newest addition to the professional fighting scene. At 6’5” and 245 lbs., Power stands out in a crowd. But what really sets him apart are his Boxing skills. Currently managed by the same group who managed former Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, Power is being looked at as a potential star in the Boxing world. A Southpaw, Power is currently 10-0 as a Pro Heavyweight, with 7 wins coming by way of Knockout.

He recently moved from his hometown of Detroit to San Diego to further advance his career in Boxing. Although not as well-known for Boxing as it once was, there is still some great Boxing training to be found in San Diego with local trainers like Ernest Johnson Sr., who is father to well-known San Diego boxer Ernest “EJ” Johnson Jr. and trainer to numerous professional and amateur boxers. There is also access to some tough sparring in the So Cal region in gyms like The Rock and Wild Card, where Manny Pacquiao trains.

But Power also plans a career in MMA. Seeking the best gym in the country for MMA training, Power chose The Arena, the San Diego MMA gym that houses the largest professional fight team in Southern California. There, Power gets the opportunity to work with numerous high-profile MMA athletes such as 6x World Jiu Jitsu champion Xande Ribeiro. At The Arena, Power instructs these athletes in the finer points of Boxing while getting some hard-core MMA training in return.

Power has also had the chance to do some serious sparring at The Arena, including going rounds with UFC striking standout Junior Dos Santos, who is being viewed as a potential heavyweight champion in MMA. During these sparring sessions, Power learned there is a big difference between pure Boxing and MMA. But Power is a natural athlete who was both a collegiate boxer as well as collegiate basketball player. He is quickly picking up the skills needed for success in MMA and anticipates launching a professional MMA career within the next year while continuing his quest for Boxing glory.

Like his fellow teammate at The Arena, Professional fighter K.J. Noons (former MMA champion and boxer who now fights in Strikeforce), Power wants to blaze a trail across both sports. With his determination, athleticism, and access to some of the best training in the world, one thing is certain. Rich “Super” Power is a force to be reckoned with and will be making a big name for himself in the near future, whether in Boxing, MMA, or both.

For more info or to contact Rich Power or The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com or call 619-222-5554.

The Arena’s Top Female MMA Fighter in the World, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, was recently interview by Sherdog as she prepares for her Strikeforce title defense in Miami on Saturday January 30th. To read this great interview, go to: Cris “Cyborg” Santos Interview

San Diego MMA Gym The Arena was featured in the fight media world once again, this time in the UFC Countdown show for UFC 107. The UFC typically films the Countdown show before its highly anticipated MMA fights. The UFC’s traditional preview show for December’s UFC 107 will debut the second week of December 2009.

UFC 107, featuring the Diego Sanchez vs. BJ Penn Lightweight title fight, will take place December 12th, 2009 at the FedEx forum in Memphis, Tennessee. The highly anticipated Sanchez/Penn fight will be the main event, with the card also featuring Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo, Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce, Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida and 7 other bouts.

“Countdown to UFC 107″ goes behind the scenes as Sanchez and Penn ready for a fight that will determine the UFC lightweight champion of the world. The 60-minute preview show has earned rave reviews as the UFC has continually created better shows with each filming, including high quality production values and close access to the fighters.

Sanchez was interviewed and filmed training at the Arena, under the watchful eye of head coach Saulo Ribeiro, the 6x Jiu Jitsu World Champion. The Arena is the Premier MMA gym in San Diego, and where Ribeiro calls home.

Besides its own MMA program, The Arena houses Ribeiro’s University of Jiu Jitsu, one of the most successful Jiu Jitsu programs in the world. The Arena is also home to other UFC and WEC fighters including Fabricio “Morango” Camoes and Rani Yahya, as well as many up and coming young MMA fighters.

The Arena – The San Diego MMA Gym. Training in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai and Wrestling in San Diego

The Arena is THE MMA Gym in San Diego that trains professional fighters as well as students who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers training in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai, and Wrestling in its San Diego MMA gym. For more information on The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com.

Rani Yahya is MMA’s King of the Submission Jungle. Although the man with the memorable name might still be unknown to some MMA fans out there, the reputation of San Diego MMA fighter and Jiu Jitsu ace Rani Yahya is rapidly growing. Currently training and teaching at The Arena, the Premier MMA gym in San Diego, Yahya is a 135 pound fighter in the WEC, the MMA organization owned by the parent company of the UFC. Yahya has the highest submission percentage of any ranked fighter in the MMA world. With a record of 15-4, an amazing 14 of his wins have been by submission.

This incredible 93% submission rate is due to Yahya’s Jiu Jitsu skills, which have also landed him 3 Jiu Jitsu World titles as well as the 2007 ADCC lightweight championship (the ADCC is the most prestigious submission grappling tournament in the world). Since signing with the WEC in 2007, Yahya has submitted 4 out of his 5 opponents in the first round. His last 3 fights have each earned him Submission of the Night awards, a record not matched by any other fighter in MMA.

So how did Yahya get so good? And why does his Jiu Jitsu work so well for MMA when other, more famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champions haven’t come close to matching Yahya’s submission rate in MMA? To answer these questions, it’s necessary to find the source of Yahya’s Jiu Jitsu. In finding that source, a story is uncovered that could have been written for Hollywood, instead of drawn from real life.

Born in 1984 in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, Yahya started training in Judo by the age of 4. A natural athlete, Yahya was on his way to becoming a Judo champion when fate intervened in the form of a near fatal snake bite at the age of 11. Rushed to the hospital, Yahya was close to death until a man known simply as Ataide came to save him, bringing the anti-venom Yahya needed to stop the poisoning. Fortunately for Yahya, Ataide is the Head of the Reptile Dept. of the Brasilia Zoo. A man known by some as the “Crocodile Dundee” of Brazil, Ataide is one of the foremost experts in the world on deadly reptiles. But Ataide is an expert in another area as well, Jiu Jitsu.

Like Yahya, Ataide trained in martial arts since he was 4, learning from one of the 5 original Red Belts (Jiu Jitsu’s highest rank) of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Because of his intense study of snakes, Ataide eventually transformed the style of Jiu Jitsu he was taught into his own special system, which features snake-like chokes and strangles. Thus was born Ataide’s Constrictor Jiu Jitsu.

Constrictor Jiu Jitsu’s practitioners suffocate their prey just like the snakes that Ataide still handles daily. This style is particularly effective for MMA because it doesn’t rely on fighting from the back like many Jiu Jitsu fighters do. Because of this, Constrictor Jiu Jitsu fighters are not as susceptible to ground and pound and can quickly neutralize opponents who make the mistake of going to the ground with a Constrictor fighter. Besides Yahya and many others in Brazil, UFC fighter Paulo Thiago (who defeated Josh Koscheck in Thiago’s 2009 UFC debut) is also a student of Ataide.

When Ataide saved Rani Yahya’s life, he recognized something special in the young boy, and adopted him as his martial arts son, teaching him the secrets of Constrictor Jiu Jitsu. Because of this influence, Yahya developed a passion for snakes as his mentor Ataide did. Like a modern-day Spiderman, Yahya feels the snake that bit him also transformed him, giving him special powers along the way. Since that first bite 14 years ago, Yahya has never been sick. Incredibly, when another poisonous snake bit him several years later, it had almost no effect.

Today, Yahya has left the real jungle and concentrates on a different one in the MMA world. He lives, trains and teaches in San Diego, where he is the Head Instructor of No Gi Jiu Jitsu for The Arena in San Diego, the well-known San Diego MMA gym where fighters like UFC standout Diego Sanchez train.

Besides his skills as a fighter, Yahya also possesses a great ability for teaching, sharing the Constrictor techniques with students who are looking for a submission grappling system that works well for both MMA and Jiu Jitsu. At The Arena, Yahya is establishing the roots of the Constrictor system in San Diego and eventually the rest of the U.S., as more people learn about this incredibly effective Submission Grappling style.

Whatever happens for Yahya in the future, one thing is certain. Whoever he faces next in the WEC better bring their A game. Because if they don’t, Yahya will strike as fast as the snake that originally bit him, earning yet another victory for MMA’s King of the Submission Jungle.

The Arena – The San Diego MMA Gym. Top Training in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai and Wrestling in San Diego

The Arena is the Premier MMA Gym in San Diego that trains professional fighters as well as recreational athletes who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers training in Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, Muay Thai, and Wrestling in its San Diego MMA gym. For more info on The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com.

Many people who follow the rapidly exploding sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) have noticed how quickly the sport is evolving. The first major MMA promotion in the U.S. was UFC 1 held in Denver November 1993, when Brazilian fighter Royce Gracie came out in his Jiu Jitsu uniform to beat a boxer, wrestler, and kickboxer one after the other, easily winning the 8 man single elimination tournament. From those humble beginnings 16 years ago, today we have numerous fight promotions across the world, including the UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce in the U.S., with thousands of professional athletes striving to make it to the top.

As the sport has evolved, so has the caliber and skill set of the athletes. No longer does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) dominate the sport as it once did. Now, besides BJJ, the true combat athlete needs to be skilled in other disciplines such as Boxing, Muay Thai, and Wrestling. Perfect examples of these well-versed athletes are MMA World Champions BJ Penn, George St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

But even rarer than MMA Champions who are skilled in multiple martial arts is the athlete who is able to successfully compete in multiple fighting disciplines at a high professional level. One such athlete trains and fights out of San Diego. His name is Karl James Noons, better known to his family, friends and fans as KJ. Although there has been a lot of news lately about the return to Boxing by well-known MMA fighter Nick Diaz, the upcoming fight will merely be Diaz’s second Boxing match. In comparison, the talented and charismatic Noons has a professional Boxing record of 10-2 with 6 KO’s, a Kickboxing record of 13-1 with 10 KO’s, and a MMA record of 6-1 with 6 KO’s.

This ability to fight on multiple fronts is a testament to KJ’s upbringing, training, athleticism, work ethic, and coaching. The son of Karl Noons Sr., who was a professional kickboxer in Hawaii in the 1970’s, KJ was raised in Hawaii until he was 16. He started martial arts training when he was 5, earning his black belt in Kenpo Karate at the age of 11. When he was 10, KJ started Boxing and by 12, he was Kickboxing. When he was 15, he began training Muay Thai and by 17, won the ISKA Super Middleweight championship. After making it to the semi-finals in the 2004 Olympic boxing trials, KJ turned pro as a boxer and in 2005 won the Pride Fighting Championship’s auditions as best striker.

In 2006, KJ signed a deal with Elite XC that allowed him to participate in both Boxing and MMA. He then fought Nick Diaz in November 2007 for the Elite XC Lightweight MMA Championship. After cutting Diaz so badly in the first round the match had to be stopped with KJ winning by TKO. In June 2008, KJ defended his Elite XC title, beating MMA veteran Yves Edwards in 48 seconds of the first round, once again by TKO. Afterwards, KJ continued his Boxing career, with his thirteenth Boxing match with TKO World Championship Boxing set at Pala Casino in Oceanside CA on August 22. After that fight, KJ has another Boxing match in Fall 2009, to be followed by a MMA fight at the end of the year. With such a demanding schedule in multiple sports, KJ truly embodies the spirit of the combat athlete.

It’s often said that to be the best, you have to train with the best. Nowhere is this truer than in the fighting arts. To further his quest for future championships in both Boxing and MMA, KJ has enlisted well-known trainer and fellow Hawaiian Rob Garcia, who spent the past 8 years as the conditioning coach for Golden Boy Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya until Oscar’s retirement this year. Besides having an extensive competitive Boxing and Jiu-Jitsu background himself, as well as two decades of athletic performance coaching, Garcia spent the past 8 years working closely alongside world-class Boxing coaches Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr., learning everything possible along the way from two of the best in the Boxing business.

Armed with his weapons of knowledge and experience, Garcia is determined to bring KJ to the top of both the Boxing and MMA worlds. In this quest, the duo have been training at the best gyms they can find, including Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing in Hollywood as well as The Arena (http://www.TheArenaMMA.com) in San Diego, the well-known MMA and Boxing gym that caters to professional and amateur fighters, with one of the best fight teams in Southern California.

With all his skills and the strong support in his corner, KJ Noons is truly able to bridge both Boxing and MMA, becoming a pioneer in the process and setting an example for all the young combat athletes who will follow in his footsteps as Boxing becomes more integrated with MMA and vice-versa. Without a doubt, we will see much more of this versatile athlete in the future as he continues to blaze a trail across the fighting world.

About The Arena – The San Diego Boxing and MMA Gym

The Arena is a MMA and Boxing gym in San Diego that trains professional fighters as well as recreational athletes who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling in its San Diego MMA gym. For more info on The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com. For more info on KJ Noons, go to http://www.KJNoons.com.

San Diego MMA and Jiu Jitsu fighter Rani Yahya will face John Hosman in the WEC on August 9th in Las Vegas Nevada at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Yahya, the current lightweight ADCC submission grappling world champion, is also the Head No Gi Jiu Jitsu instructor for The Arena (http://www.TheArenaMMA.com), a highly regarded MMA gym in San Diego.

Yahya will be fighting on the undercard of the Miguel Torres versus Brian Bowles fight. Yahya is a bantamweight (135 lb) fighter with a 14-4 pro MMA record, including 4 previous fights in the WEC. He is considered one of the best pound for pound grapplers on the planet, winning 3 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships and is the reigning lightweight submission grappling world champion, winning the ADCC World Championships in 2007 at the age of 22. After his August 9th WEC fight, Yahya will be defending his ADCC title in September 2009 in Barcelona Spain.

His opponent is John Hosman, a 28 yr. old fighter with a 17-4-1 pro MMA record recorded over the past 4 years. Coincidentally, Hosman trains out of the same camp as Clay Guida, while Yahya trains out of the The Arena, the same camp as Diego Sanchez. Guida and Sanchez recently fought on the Ultimate fighter finale on June 22nd, 2009.

Hosman was recently chosen to replace Kenji Osawa, who was sidelined by a foot injury. The 5”10” Hosman, known for his Wrestling, Boxing, and Muay Thai skills, is an interesting matchup for the 5’6” Jiu Jitsu wizard Yahya, who is known for his amazing submission abilities.

About The Arena – The San Diego MMA Gym

The Arena is a MMA gym in San Diego that trains professional fighters as well as recreational athletes who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling in its San Diego MMA gym. For more info on The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com

Diego Garijo, a well-known San Diego Jiu Jitsu and MMA fighter, won big in his first fight on the Bellator Fighting Championships 8 on June 5th 2009.

Garijo represented The Arena (http://www.TheArenaMMA.com), a MMA gym in San Diego known for the strength of its MMA team and its outstanding training. He also represented San Diego’s The University of Jiu Jitsu, owned by the famous Jiu Jitsu World Champions Saulo and Xande Ribeiro.

Garijo shocked the crowd with his come-from-behind win, stopping opponent Saad Awad in 4:45 of the 1st round by rear naked choke. Garijo, known as “El Nino” like other Latino MMA fighter Gilbert Melendez, came into the fight with a 3-1 record, having won his first three fights in a row, but then losing by TKO in his last fight in 2007.

After taking a 2 year layoff to concentrate on his Jiu Jitsu game under the tutelage of Jiu Jitsu masters Saulo and Xande Ribeiro, Garijo returned to training MMA at The Arena, a well-known MMA gym in San Diego. The Arena houses one of the most powerful MMA teams in the U.S., with fighters on their roster including the UFC’s Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez and the WEC’s Rani Yahya.

Garijo returned to the cage to face Saad “Assassin” Awad, who was the heavily favored fighter. Awad came into the fight with a 7-2 record, having fought 5 more times than Garijo over the last 2 years. Initially, the fight looked bad for Garijo when Awad, the San Bernadino favorite, opened a bad cut over Garijo’s eye. But Garijo fought through and countered with knees, then went for a double leg takedown and then guillotine. Awad escaped the guillotine and took Garijo’s back. Garijo once again countered and put Awad in a rear naked choke, ending the fight with an incredible comeback in the 1st round to the screams of an incredulous crowd.

The fight was a huge win for Garijo, who has left his regular job to concentrate full-time on his MMA career. Garijo, managed by Jeff Clark of veteran MMA management company NCFC (http://www.NCFC.tv), trained extremely hard for his Bellator debut and his work clearly paid off.

It was also one more testament for The Arena’s MMA Team, with 5 previous wins by its fighters in the last two months, including wins by Rani Yahya, Xande Ribeiro, Fabricio “Morango” Camoes, “Notorious” Rick Slaton and Joe “Hybrid” Duarte.

About The Arena – The San Diego MMA Gym and Fight Team

The Arena is a MMA gym in San Diego that trains professional fighters as well as recreational athletes who want to train like fighters. The Arena offers training in Boxing, MMA, Muay Thai, No Gi Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. For more info on The Arena, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com

About the University of Jiu Jitsu – San Diego California

The University of Jiu Jitsu in San Diego California is owned by multiple time Jiu Jitsu World Champions Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. It is one of the Premier Jiu Jitsu schools in the world. The Ribeiro brothers teach full-time in their San Diego Jiu Jitsu academy, alongside their famed mentor Royler Gracie. For more info on the University of Jiu Jitsu, go to http://www.UNIJJ.com

San Diego, California June 4th, 2009 — The Arena

MMA in San Diego is continuing its rapid explosion, with another major MMA event being held in San Diego after the WEC 38 event at the San Diego Sports Arena on Jan 25th 2009. The 2nd San Diego MMA event, known as War Gods, was held at Viejas Casino May 30th, 2009. As usual, one MMA gym in San Diego, known simply as The Arena (http://www.thearenamma.com), continued to dominate, with both of the fighters The Arena had on the War Gods card winning in spectacular fashion in the 1st round of their respective fights.

The Arena entered two San Diego favorites, “Notorious” Rick Slaton and Joe “Hybrid” Duarte. Slaton, an experienced brawler with fights against notable UFC fighters such as Shane Carwin, and Duarte, an upcoming young fighter featured on The Ultimate Fighter Show in 2008, both impressed the crowd with their quick wins.

Rick Slaton, entering his fight with a 9-1-1 record, is a well-known local figure in the San Diego MMA world, having been involved in it for over a decade. Although known for his “Art of Face Punching” and issuing what Slaton calls “Free Pain”, he surprised the crowd by coming out quickly with two rapid leg kicks against MMA Fighter / Professional Boxer Salah Zabian, who was quickly overwhelmed. Slaton rapidly administered his particular brand of Free Pain to Zabian, TKO’ing him in 56 seconds of the 1st round.

Joe Duarte is also an extremely popular San Diego figure and is considered a rising young gun in the MMA world. Although only coming into the fight with a 4-1 record versus his opponent, MMA vet David Gardner with 28 Pro MMA fights to his credit, Duarte scored an impressive victory in 2:41 of the 1st round. Gardner proved a tough and game opponent for the initial two minutes. However, Duarte was simply too much for Gardner, overwhelming and outgunning him with punches until the fight was called.

The Arena has an impressive roster of Professional MMA fighters on its team and is on a winning streak, with The Arena Team fighters Rani Yahya winning in WEC 40 on April 5th, Xande Ribeiro winning in the Japanese event Sengoku on May 2nd and Fabricio “Morango” Camoes winning in Strikeforce on 5/15/2009.

Other upcoming fights for the team include Diego Garijo in Bellator on June 5th and Diego Sanchez in the UFC on June 20th.

About The Arena – The MMA Training Gym in San Diego California

The Arena is a San Diego MMA school and fighter training gym that focuses on training professional fighters as well as recreational athletes 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, go to http://www.TheArenaMMA.com. You can also follow their tweets at http://www.Twitter.com/TheArenaMMA. For more info on Rick Slaton, go to http://www.MySpace.com/Rick_Slaton. For more info on Joe Duarte, go to http://www.MySpace.com/JoeDuarte.

The June 2009 edition of Revolt in Style magazine featured Joe Duarte in a full length article, detailing Joe’s life story, including his MMA career in San Diego. Check out the magazine if you are in San Diego or go online to Revolt in Style magazine. The full text of the article is below.

“G.I. Joe” Duarte – Fighting from One Battlefield to Another
- by Taff Davies, San Diego May 23rd 2009

In recent months, I’ve reported on how quickly Mixed Martial Arts has grown deep roots in San Diego, both in terms of the quality of training as well as the quality of fighters. These fighters include famous MMA stars such as Diego Sanchez and Brandon Vera. Deciding to deepen my investigation into the San Diego MMA world, I started searching for a local San Diego fighter with star potential, but who hasn’t made it to the big leagues yet. My search led me to Joe Duarte, a young man who has already lived a life of battle, from one arena to another.

Joe was born and raised on Guam, a small island of 200,000 people in the South Pacific. A born athlete, Joe was a high school Wrestler, Football and Soccer Player. But it wasn’t until his sophomore year of high school that he discovered his true athletic passion, fighting. Training with the Purebread MMA team on Guam from the age of 16 to 19, he decided to head to the mainland to further his dreams.

Leaving Guam in 2002 with $500 and a one-way plane ticket to Texas, he trained with high-level professionals and showed strong promise. However, 6 months after his arrival, Joe was recruited to join the U.S. Army. Deciding duty to country was more important than individual desires; Joe enlisted and left for Ft. Benning Georgia in May 2002. Upon his arrival, he met another athlete who had also decided to postpone his athletic dreams in favor of duty, Pat Tillman. Pat was the NFL player who turned down a $3 million contract with the Phoenix Cardinals to serve his country, but was sadly killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

Joe and Pat went through Basic, Airborne, and Ranger training together, where they earned the right to be called Rangers in December 2002. From February 2003 up until January 2006, Joe served several tours in the Middle East, operating in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While there, he was almost killed on numerous missions and lost many close friends. After returning to the U.S., Joe started boxing with the All-Army Boxing Team and decided to return to his dream of becoming a professional fighter when his Army contract was completed in May 2006.

The day after he left the Army, Joe moved to San Diego to train MMA, hearing from friends it was the best city in the U.S. for a young fighter to make a name for himself. He quickly turned Professional in September 2006 and after 3 fights, was discovered by the UFC. They then invited him to become a member of The Ultimate Fighter show in 2008. Although Joe failed to make it to the finals due to exhaustion from cutting 18 lbs. of body weight one day before his fight, Joe made a memorable impression while there.

Returning to San Diego, Joe resumed his professional career, winning in October of 2008. With 4 wins and no losses on his professional record, he was set to fight again the next month. Tragically, he was informed 15 minutes before his fight that his father had just passed away. No stranger to loss, he decided to soldier on and fight anyway, but was caught by his opponent when Joe was off-guard.

After his fight, he immediately flew to Guam to help his family. Upon his return to San Diego in March 2009, Joe decided he needed to train with the best, so he joined The Arena, a MMA gym located next to the San Diego Sports Arena. Besides being open to the general public, The Arena has a professional team comprised of top quality fighters like Diego Sanchez, Rani Yahya, Fabricio “Morango” Camoes, Xande Ribeiro, Pat Speight and many more.

Upon joining The Arena Team, Joe quickly signed a three-fight deal with War Gods, a MMA Fight League. Joe will be fighting his first fight with War Gods here in San Diego at Viejas Casino on May 30th against opponent David Gardner, a MMA vet with 17 professional fights to his name. Although Gardner will be a difficult challenge, Joe simply looks at him as one more enemy to conquer as he continues his quest to be all he can be.

For more info on Joe Duarte, go to
JoeDuarteMMA.com. For more info on War Gods, go to WarGods.tv. For more info on The Arena, call 619-222-5554 or go to TheArenaMMA.com.

Head Muay Thai Instructor for San Diego based MMA gym “The Arena”, will be featured in StrikeandSubmit.com’s upcoming online video tutorials as the Muay Thai video instructor. Asked to star in this series due to his long-standing recognition in San Diego as a true Muay Thai master, Kru Mark demonstrated numerous techniques on camera for the upcoming video series including his trademark elbow and knee techniques.

Kru Mark, whose formal name is Boungnaphonh Makthepharaks, is a Master Muay Thai Instructor with 50 years of Muay Thai experience. He started his Muay Thai training in 1959 at the age of 6 under his father, 4-star General Bounpone Makthepharaks, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Laotian army. Kru Mark’s style of Muay Thai has been passed down from father to son for five generations. His fighting system, called DETH KO SIN, draws from ancient Muay Thai combat techniques that were used in hand to hand fighting during battle.

Kru Mark has a fascinating history. Like his father, Kru Mark also served in the military, operating with the U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam, until his capture in the spring of 1975 by communists. After being held for six months in a POW camp, Kru Mark escaped and then emigrated to the U.S. Since then, he has spent the past 30 plus years competing (he was a Muay Thai World Champion), teaching, and coaching.