MMA Club grows quickly, includes possible professional fighters

Jorge Corrales/Contributing Writer

 

Mixed Martial Arts is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. So it should come as no surprise that the MMA Club at FIU is one of the fastest growing organizations at the University.

The club was founded in 2009 by former student David Cano. For the first few years of its existence, there were only a handful of students in the club. Today, the club boasts almost twenty active members.

The club’s mission is to provide a fun and safe environment for the students of Florida International University to train in Mixed Martial Arts.

The current president of the club, Yannick Saez, has been a member since 2010.

When asked why he became interested in MMA, Saez credits a bad breakup.

“I had gotten really out of shape and knew it was time to make a change,” Saez said. “I was working out at the rec center and saw a small flyer that read: Mixed Martial Arts Club. I decided to check it out and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since.”

The club meets every Wednesday in the Gold Room at the FIU Rec Center at 8 p.m. They also offer additional grappling and striking sessions on Mondays and Fridays.

Students can attend their first meeting for free as a trial. After that, the club fee is $35 dollars a month.

“Meetings usually consist of three parts,” Saez said. “We start with an intensive warm up, move on to technique and finish with some grappling. Club meetings usually last around two hours.”

FIU MMA also trains outside of the University. Their affiliate school, Sunset MMA, offers members of the club another place for them to hone their skills.

“It [Sunset MMA] sprung up because our instructor, Daniel Perez, got the opportunity to open up his own school,” Saez said. “It’s really great for us because sometimes there are other clubs, such as wrestling, that meet at our usual location. Sunset MMA is close by and gives us a location to meet and have additional training.”

For those who are seriously interested in MMA, the club goes passed the gym.  Along with the sparring and the competitions that the club organizes, some members of the club also choose to do amateur MMA fights.

“Our instructor puts us in contact with promoters and it goes from there,” Saez said. “The promoters set us up in amateur fights which involve both striking and grappling. In order to compete professionally, you have to complete five amateur fights—win or lose.”

Saez says competing in an amateur fight is a completely different experience than sparring with your fellow club members.

“It’s a completely different animal,” Saez said. “I remember my first amateur fight, I took a punch that really jarred me, I realized there was power behind that punch; this guy is actually trying to hurt me. When in that type of situation, your training really kicks in.”

“That’s the biggest thing I get out of this club. Not only is it a great way to stay fit, it also gives me the tools to defend myself should the situation present itself,” Saez added.

Thus far Saez has competed in two amateur fights and has a record of 1-1.

By the end of this year, the club expects to have two of its members fighting professionally.

-sports@fiusm.com

Be the first to comment on "MMA Club grows quickly, includes possible professional fighters"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*