Round One.

I have been planning to start a blog for months and finally, after a lot of procrastinating, I have decided to take the bull by the horns. With that, I am happy to introduce - Vanilla Gorilla MMA; a blog created to rant about MMA, fighters, training, conditioning and I am hoping to introduce, interview and post information on some up-and-coming fighters in the Los Angeles area as well.

A little about me...

I am a former U.S. Marine, high school wrestling champion, All-American college football player and long time fan and practitioner of MMA, No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing. I had my first (and last) MMA fight in 2003, a TKO loss to the infamous, Lloyd "Kadillac" Marshbanks in Tijuana, Mexico. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget but it also opened my eyes to the dedication and commitment it really takes to become a competitive, professional fighter. So, with a new real-world perspective (and more so due to my bosses constant complaining about my bumps and bruises), I opted to forgo a second attempt at MMA glory and became a corporate slug by day and a casual MMA and BJJ enthusiast by night - it's a decision I rarely regret. 

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of being taught by and training with some exceptional individuals in the Los Angeles MMA/BJJ community. While at PKG Training Center (www.pkgla.com), I was trained by WEC veteran, Chad George, MMA Trainer, Ian Harris, BJJ Blackbelt, Tahi Burns and Sean Choi and locked horns with some pretty rough and tumble hombres on a daily basis as well. PKG Training Center is an amazing facility and I would highly recommend it to fighters, MMA enthusiasts at any level. 

I am currently training at Arriva-Machado (www.arrivamachado.com) MMA under No-Gi phenom and undefeated MMA fighter Pedro Munhoz and two-time Olympic hopeful, Kenny Johnson (who currently trains Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn and Paul Daley amongst many others). Arriva-Machado MMA is a fantastic gym, rich in history and filled with great grapplers and MMA, Muay Thai fighters to train with. 

I've also trained at IMB in Old Torrance, Impact Gym in Hermosa Beach and Dartanian Bagby / Absolute BJJ in North Hollywood. 

In the end, I have plenty of opinions regarding the history and current state of MMA, training, fighters, promotions, etc. and look forward to sharing my thoughts, hearing others feedback and hopefully learning more about the sport and culture I love in the process. 

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT - BE SURE TO FOLLOW ME BY EMAIL!