THE FIGHTERS

Alicia Gumm (2-1):

Alicia Gumm is a well decorated martial Artist whose background includes Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Submission Grappling and she is a brownbelt in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. Alicia has wins over such stars as Michele Waterson. When not training or competing Alicia is one of the co-owners and trainers of Gumm MMA. She and her husband Brad have spent there life in the sport of MMA and they give back daily. Alicia is also a Vegan and a very proud member of the Vegan outreach programs.

Danny Martinez (10-2):

Danny is a hard worker, ability to overcome adversity, strong family bonds. Danny was born in Tempe, Arizona and he has wrestled and boxed most of his life. Danny’s wrestling landed him a spot on the Pima Junior College wrestling team and while earning his degree he won the Rage in The Cage bantamweight title. Danny has signed a multi-fight deal with the WEC in 2008 and is hoping to be fighting at the 125-weight class in the near future. Danny is of Mexican and American heritage.

JT Wells (5-2):

JT is a powerful striker who also has a great ground game. JT Wells trains full time out of South West MMA (SWMMA) under Santino Defranco. JT Wells has been training Mixed Martial Arts for a relatively short period of time but it should be no surprise that his first four victories were by way of submission, one of them being via gogoplata. He is known for his fast paced scrambles that keep his opponents guessing and JT winning. He also has a vicious HL Reel knockout over Bodog Veteran Gilbert Sims.

Yaotzin Meza (11-5):

Yaotzin (Yati) is a scrappy fighter who loves to stand and bang. Yati is trained by Santino Defranco and trains full time. He is a top level grappler with great submissions and has power in both hands. Yati is focusing on his kickboxing and evolving his game.

Santino Defranco (13-4):

Santino Defranco is a coach and trainer of some of today’s fastest rising MMA stars, and happens to be a rising MMA star himself. He is one of the cast mates of season 9 The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. He is also a former Bodog and IFL veteran whose fighting career has been sidelined by a series of serious brain injuries. Santino is on the comeback train and fighting for the biggest organizations in the world.

Chase Hackett (0-0 as a pro):

Chase Hackett is a Colorado native who up until recently was a competitive Motorcross Rider. Chase ironically turned to fighting to keep the competitive fires burning and as an outlet to have less injuries in his life. In 2006 Chase began with kickboxing and MMA and found a lot of success at the local grappeling tournaments. Chase Hacket has gone on to win the Warriors Collide Amateur Lightweight Title. Chase is trained by Brad and Alicia Gumm at GUMM MMA in Colorado.

Dale Hartt (7-1):

Dale is a UFC veteran who is originally from the East Coast. Training with some of the greats like Marcus Davis and Team Sityodong has lead Dale to the UFC and living full time and training full time in Las Vegas Nevada. Dale is a scrappy fighter who is game wherever the fight may go. Dale Hartt is looking to be a force in the UFC lightweight division.

Jeremy Malaterre (1-1):

Jeremy is a life long Martial Artist who began to focus on MMA in 2006. Jeremy is known for his work ethic and a solid submission game. Jeremy is an exciting and explosive fighter that is working on becoming a great fighter.

Efrain Escudero (11-0):

Efrain is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 8 on Spike TV. Efrain is the fist UFC fighter who was born in Mexico. Efrain is fluent in both Spanish and English. Efrain used fighting to help pay for his criminal justice degree. One summer he fought 8 times and won all 8 by submission. Efrain tragically lost his father before the start of season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter and he almost did not go on the show. His Dad asked him to promise to go on the show and give it his all and a few months later Efrain won the Ultimate Fighter and dedicated the win to his father.

Ben Henderson (9-1):

Ben Henderson is a dynamic fighter who lives a life of zen outside of the octagon. Ben is the kids BJJ instructor at The LAB MMA and has not let the fame of fighing for the WEC affect him. On his time off you will find him in the library reading books and training his mind. Benson lives a clean faith based life and is about as kind and gentle as they come outside of the octagon. Come fight time he channels the rage and furry of 4 fighters and has a come forward and destroy you at all cost attitude. Ben is an amazing striker, grappler and all around solid athlete. He has a black belt in taekwando and was a collegete level wrestler.

Gabe Ruediger (13-5):

Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger is a UFC and WEC Veteran who was formerly the 3 time WEC World Champion and castmember of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. Gabe is a well rounded fighter who is best known for his ground skills. Gabe is a brown belt in BJJ and world class wrestler. Gabe has been passionate about Martial Arts his entire life and MMA gives him the platform to bring it all together. Gabe Ruediger is trained by world class stand up coach Bob Chaney and Ground Gamewizzard Rodrigo Mederios.

Rocky Johnson (20-8):

Rocky Johnson is a professional MMA fighter with about 30 fights under his belt. Rocky holds 4 current Pro Lightweight Titles in Colorado including, Rocky Mtn Bad Boyz, No Mercy, Knuckles Inc and King of Champions. Rocky is the former Battlequest Champion.

Ryan Kelly (6-0):

Ryan Kelly was a college level wrestler who used MMA as a way to stay in shape and connected to the sport of wresting. It was not long before Ryan found himself in the ring as a professional fighter. Now a college grad who is pursuing his Masters in Construction Management at ASU. Ryan is also a father of two with another child on the way. Ryan is currently the 2nd ranked 170-pounder in the state of Arizona and has his sights set on reaching the UFC.

Seth Baczynski (7-2):

Seth was born in Hawaii and moved to Arizona when he was six. Seth was into athletics as far back as he can remember. Seth spent his high school years as a star football player and declined a few scholarships to play at the college level. While working a regular job Seth saw an early UFC and was hooked, he found a local gym in Tempe and began training immediately. He had his first amateur fight within 6 days of starting to train. Seth fought at heavyweight and was forever hooked to the sport. Seth began to loose weight and is now fighting at 170 Seth has fought for the IFL and several regional shows.

Edgar Garcia (7-0):

Edgar Garcia is the 2^nd fighter in the UFC to be born in Mexico and he is also a life long friend of Efrain Escudero. Edgar was originally signed with the WEC and went 1-0 with the WEC knocking out top ranked Hiromitsu Miura in just over a minute. He is now a part of the UFC’s 170-pound weight class. Edgar is fluent in both Spanish and English.

Richie Hightower (7-3):

Richie was a cast mate on Season 6 f The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. Richie has fought for many of the best organizations in the sport. Richie trains out of LA Boxing in Ahwatukee, AZ where he is also an instructor. Richie is known for his powerful strikes and slick submissions.

Chris Camozzi (10-2):

Chris is a raw yet talented striker with a great wrestling base. Chris is known for his heavy hands and iron will. Brad and Alicia Gumm are his trainers and Chris trains at 6,000 feet above sea level. Chris has been featured on HDNET, MFC and many other top MMA programs. Chris is a rising star in the 185 pound weight class.

Derek Downey (10-4):

Derek has fought for the UFC and was the Throwdown 185-pound Champ before vacating the title for a fight with the UFC. Derek loves to strike and is must comfortable when in the clinch. Derek has a collegiate level wrestling background with a love for striking. Derek is active with his church and his wife and four kids.

Jason Karpel (3-0):

Jason “The Hebrew Hammer” Karpell is 2-0 at 185. At just 21 years of age Jason is embarking on two tough careers. Jason is trying to earn his Law Degree and become one of the best MMA fighters in the country. Jason Karpel grew up in Chicago, Illinois and has a wrestling and judo background. Jason has been training his submissions withdrew Fickett and Santino Defranco.

Jesse Forbes (10-3):

Jesse Forbes is a UFC and WEC veteran. He was a contest and on The Ultimate Fighter 3 and fought in on the final show that set all of the MMA records for Spike TV. Jesse Forbes attended Pima Junior College, where he was a Juco All American, and on a wrestling scholarship and used that background to secure a spot on The Ultimate Fighter. After his time on TUF he was signed to the WEC and Jesse has fought on such channels as Spike, Versus and HDNET. Jesse is a grappler with a powerful unorthodox stance. He is a full time fighter and a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Champion and Pan American Champion.

Eliot Marshall (7-1):

Bio coming soon.

Brendan Schaub (4-0):

Brendan Schaub grew up studying the Martial Art Tae Kwon Do with his father and brother. His father is a 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Brendan knew at a very early age that he wanted to learn to fight professionally. Brendan’s athleticism led him to a spot on the University of Colorado’s Div NCAA Football team. Brendan still had that desire to be a fighter and he eventually found his way to become a student of the Martial Art Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). He found BJJ to be a great way to stay in shape in the off-season and it wasn’t long before the ring began to call his name. Brendan started learning boxing and eventually went on to win the Golden Gloves as a Heavyweight. What had the boxing media take note was this relative newcomer just won the Golden Gloves and he did it all with knockouts.

The Golden Gloves championship inspired Brendan to test his skills at BJJ and he went on to win the 2008 Colorado Open (Absolute Division and Advanced Division) all wins came via submission. Brendan knew that MMA was the natural progression. He has gone on to capture the Ring of Fire Heavyweight Championship and is currently undefeated in MMA with no fight lasting longer then 1:28.

Shane Carwin (11-0):

Shane is an impressive 11-0 and is one of the top 10 heavyweights in the World. Shane Carwin gained success both as an athlete, and a student. Shane went to Western State where he was a 3x NCAA Division 2 National Finalist, and a National Champion wrestler. He was also a 2x All-American in Football, the 1996 RMAC Football Player of the year, was invited to participate in the 1998 Senior Bowl as a linebacker, and also participated in the Indianapolis Combine. Shane was also a 3x Academic All-American. After graduating from Western State, he completed his 2nd degree at Colorado School of Mines where he was an assistant wrestling coach for 2 years. He then began his career in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). In MMA Shane has made fast progress with a record of 11-0 and all wins coming by 1st round stoppages. He just recently signed to a multi fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Shane is married to his wife Lani, and has a son named Kamden.