Combat sports are as popular as they have ever been, especially the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The recent UFC 284 in Australia was a sell-out event, with 14,124 fans in attendance at the RAC Arena in Perth, and those fans helped the event make $4,086,688 at the gate, the most money ever from a UFC event “Down Under.”

Making it to the top of the UFC is by no means easy. Indeed, it is the polar opposite of easy. Only a handful of athletes achieve superstar status in the sport, but those that do reap financial rewards in abundance, in addition to kudos from their fellow professionals and adoration from their fans. The Arena martial arts gym at 3350 Sports Arena Blvd. in San Diego is hopeful its expert trainers will soon uncover the UFC’s next gem; after all, some of the promotion’s biggest names have trained and sparred under its roof.

The Arena Was Founded in 1949

Aloysius C. Holtmann, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Danzan-Ryu Jujitsu black belt, founded the gym in 1949. It has since become one of the world’s most renowned and respected martial arts academies. Some of the UFC’s biggest names have trained at The Arena, including the legendary Cris Cyborg, Xande Ribeiro, Joe Duarte, and Pat Speight.

The gym has a talented bunch of up-and-coming talent among its ranks. Enrique “Hulk Hands” Marte fights out of Point Loma and currently has a 1-2 record since turning professional, although his amateur record of 7-4 was more impressive.

The amazingly named Here “The Islander” Dudes hails from French Polynesia but fights out of Chula Vista, California. Dudes’ 4-4 amateur record was nothing to shout about, but he has taken to professional MMA like a duck to water and is seen as a future star. Dudes currently has a 10-1 record, his sole defeat coming against Devon Brock in his ninth fight; he won his next two contests after that loss.

Jesse “JT Money” Taylor is the most experienced MMA athlete affiliated with The Arena MMA. The 40-year-old has stepped into battle 49 times, winning 33 and losing 16. Taylor, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, has used the skills learned from Baret Yoshida to force submissions from his opponents in 18 of his 33 victories. This shows how incredible Yoshida’s training is.

Legendary Yoshida Heads the Jiu-Jitsu Program

Baret Yoshida is the legendary Jiu-Jitsu fighter that heads up The Arena’s Jiu-Jitsu program. The 4th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu earned the nickname “The Finisher” thanks to the relentless style that he showed when he burst onto the scene in 1999. Born in Hawaii 47 years ago, Yoshida trained in Jiu-Jitsu from an early age, training with Relson Gracie’s academy, one of the oldest and most established academies in Hawaii.

Yoshida made a name for himself at the 2001 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship in Abu Dhabi. He reached the final but lost, earning a silver medal in the process. Yoshida won silver in the 2003 edition in Sao Paulo and bronze at the 2007 ADDC World Championship in New Jersey. In 2022, the ADDC inducted Yoshida into its Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class.

“The Finisher” ended his professional MMA career with a 6-6-1 record, having last fought in May 2010.

The Arena Has Plenty of Boxing Talent

It is not only MMA that The Arena specializes in because it has some talented boxers on its roster. UFC Hall of Fame fighter Chris Leben and four-time USA Olympic Boxing Coach Basheer Abdullah provide top-tier instruction for anyone wanting to learn the nuances of boxing. That pair has trained 21-year-old Adan Palma, a San Diego resident, who is currently 5-0 in his professional career, with four of those victories coming by way of knockout. Palma has a bright future ahead of him.

Will The Arena produce a UFC athlete that goes onto superstardom? It is a matter of if not when this will happen.