In the above picture: Brandon Melendez (The Ultimate Fighter), Brandon Kiser (Host of Damage Control MMA), Kyacey Uscola (The Ulimate Figher and Bodog), Jake Paul (Gladiator Challenge World Champ), Brian Yamasaki (Host of Damage Control MMA).

2010 – The biggest year in Fight Core history. We stepped up our game by opening a new training facility in North Salt Lake, bringing in world class fighters, signing a licensing agreement with Full Contact Fighter and reaching a million views on the Damage Control MMA website.  

Utah’s best coaches were assembled for the grand opening of the New Mushin Gym in North Salt Lake. The gym is twice the size of the former location and features all brand new Dollamur Grappling Mats, fully stocked pro shop, bag rack, boxing ring and world class coaching. Classes are available 5 days a week and are open to everyone from the general public, to first time MMA enthusiasts and on to world class pro fighters.

Fight Core and Damage Control join forces with Full Contact Fighter to bring together the best fight shorts with the best online training program in the industry.

Highlight of Fight Core in 2009

JANUARY

Kyacey Uscola heads to Salt Lake City to get acclimated to the higher elevation before his fight with Hank Weiss on Febuary 20th at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Brian Yamasaki and Brandon Kiser start working on the Ultimate Combat Experience as guest commentators for the long time friend Mike Stidham.  Tune in on Channel 30 every Sunday at 3:00 pm

Fight Core meets a Catch Wrestling legend Billy Robinson and the founder of Scientific Wrestling Mr. Jake Shannon. These guys taught some moves on our show Damage Control and forever changed my game by teaching some of the coolest moves I have ever seen from Catch Wrestling! Meeting these guys is absolutely one of the best memories of 2009 and my entire Martial Arts Journey.

FEBUARY

Jake Paul defeats Cole Rose and Kyacey Uscola defeats Hank Weiss at the Energy Solutions Arena.

Konrad Jones goes the distance in his first fight against one of Utahs toughest, Kofe Azitzu.

MARCH

Record breaking attendance at the 2009 Erik Paulson seminar as we covered everything from STX (Savate Thai Cross Training) Kickboxing, to Judo Throws, to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 

 Johnny Miller wins at Throwdown Fighting Event.

 APRIL

Konrad Jones and Kensei Sato make their MMA Debut at the UCE in Vernal Utah.

MAY

Brian Yamasaki and Brandon Kiser take our team to CSW Camp 2009.

Mushin Fight Team ranked in top 10 on one of the biggest internet fight sites in the world Sherdog.com

Me and Yamasaki travelled to Idaho to participate in a 10th planet JJ seminar and filmed some more segments for our show Damage Control.

JUNE

 Fight Core clothing line prepares to launch.

Aaron Okura and Paul Roberts both represented the Bernales Institute in the Ultimate Combat Experience bringing home two more wins.

Jake Paul defeats Lee Doss after much negative talk from the Jeremy Horn camp. This win made Jake the new Gladiator Challenge Champion.

Team Eilte demands a do-over and the rivalry builds. Jake gets an immediate rematch scheduled with Lee Doss after Jeremy Horn and company complain about the stoppage of the first fight.

Former Kickboxing Coach of Randy Couture and long time friend Cade Janjira joins the Fight Core team completing the coaching Trifecta.

JULY

Brandon Melendez joins Jake Paul on our fight team and rumors of a possible future fight agains Josh Burkman start buzzing.

AUGUST

Mushin to participate in Mike Stidhams new reality TV vison.

And still the Gladiator Challenge Champion… JAKE PAUL defeats Lee Doss with an 8 second K.O. in the immediate rematch that was demanded by Jeremy Horn and Lee Doss.

SEPTEMBER

Brian Yamasaki and Brandon Kiser featured on Hapkido TV.

Kiser travels to Puerto Rico joining Babalu and Eric Bad Apple to corner their friend Kyacey Uscola against one of Greg Jacksons fighters.

OCTOBER 

 Kiser travels to Boise to corner Kyacey Uscola with Urijah Faber and Jake Paul

NOVEMBER

Kiser and Yamasaki corner Brandon Melendez against Josh Burkman in one of Utahs biggest fights to date.

DECEMBER

Fight Core Soldiers show their loyalty. Chris “Super Grappler” Lanham and Trevor Warner get Fight Core ink.

Mushin Self Defense barely has 1,000 square feet of training space but that hasn’t stopped the Mushin Crew from makin big things happen.

The gym has a hard core yet cozy vibe with an old school feel to it. Long before the big chain gyms and MMA Super Centers like Throwdown came to town, Yamasaki and I were putting in work on the MMA Frontline and 10 years later we are still on the hustle.

We currently have two pro fighters training for title fights. Jake Paul and Brandon Melendez have their fight camps in full effect at Mushin right now. In addition to that we also have Mike Stidhams new reality TV show filming out of our gym as we try and get a female fighter with no experience ready for her first MMA fight in 5 short weeks. Mushin attendance for the regular scheduled Muay Thai and CSW classes is at an all time high and we have also added a new class to the line up… Girls Kickboxing. Yamasaki and Pete getting ready to leave for the Annual TBA camp in Oregon. On top of all that we are also filming for our new TV Show DAMAGE CONTROL.

With all of this going on we have had to rely heavily on our most senior student Shane “potato bug” Taylor and Fighter Corps graduate Konrad “Rebar” Jones. These guys have been warming up the classes everyday and keeping our students sharp.

We have also called in reinforcements in the form of one World Class Muay Thai Coach Cade Janjira. Cade has been running the sparring sessions and keeping the fighters in line.

Stay tuned for updates. We will keep you posted on the results of the Title Fights, Jakes rematch, and Rachels debut. 2009 has been one of our best years ever and we are only half way through.

Jake “The Snake” Paul is scheduled to rematch Lee Doss as his first Welter Weight Title defense for Gladiator Challenge. The fight will take place on Saturday August 29th 2009 at the Denver Nugget Hotel and Casino in Wendover Nevada. 

My understanding is that Team Elite wants a do-over. Can’t really blame them for that, if I was as outspoken and disrespectful as they were leading up to this fight and then lost in the 2nd round to a team of “nobody’s”… I guess I would want another shot at redemption too. Jake is working hard to defend his title and I am confident he will. He has is primary trainers Brian Yamasaki and myself along with Team Fighter Corps and a couple other additions to his fight camp including a couple of south paws, kick boxers and World Class Trainer Cade Janjira.

"Rebar", Shane, Cade Janjira, Kiser, JTS, Sterling Niitsuma

 I don’t know what warranted some of the comments coming from their camp as Team Elite and Team Mushin have been trading victories for years.

It seems like our teams used to have a decent repoire with each other but the rivalry has continued to build over the years. I think rivalry makes for great fights and it’s good for the sport. We can’t all be friends and affiliates. I have enough friends and I don’t want to be pals with every other gym but I’ve tried to maintain some level of respect for the other teams out there.

I travelled to Oregon to corner Dennis Davis in Sport Fight. Brandon Melendez was also on the card and Jeremy was there to corner. We shared a bus, locker room and flight home. I left that trip thinking Jeremy was a decent down to earth guy.  We would say hello and shake hands when we would see each other at the fights. Shortly after that Harold Lucambio ended up fighting Demarcus Johnson. The two exchanged groin shots and battled their way to a decision. Demarcus won the fight and I went to shake hands and congratulate the other team. Jeremy said some pretty shitty stuff at a pretty shitty time. We just lost an intense fight that we worked very hard for and went to thank the other team only to be insulted. It was poor timing and the rivalry has continued to grow ever since.

Lee Doss and Jake Paul were scheduled to fight a year or so ago in Jeremy Horn’s production. Jake received a better offer on another card and took it. Lee Doss had a lot to say about that. These two were destined to meet in the cage at some point.

 On June 13th they ended up fighting for the Gladiator Challenge Title. Jake won the fight in the second round by ref stoppage.  It wasn’t a close fight. It’s not like these two guys fought to a split decision, in fact Jake came out of there without a scratch or bruise on him. Elite wants the rematch and they are going to get it.

I am very proud of Jake for the way he has conducted himself through this entire process. He has been a true professional and gentlemen.

It was well worth driving 7 hours to Wendover to see Jake Paul defeat Lee Doss in the 2nd round of the Gladiator Challenge Championship.

Due to a crash on I-80 West, the drive from Salt Lake to Wendover ended up taking us about seven hours instead of two. We tried 3 different routes. The 1st two were closed by the Highway Patrol and the last one (Lehi) was too backed up. After three hours of driving, three different attempts and one monsoon, we ended up back at my house, right where we started.

Amazingly after everything we’d been through, all four of the passengers were still willing to try and get to Wendover to support our team! So we loaded back up into the car and headed back down I-80 West. Me and my trusty partner Yamasaki in the front seat and my friends Cade and Britt in the back seat. We were off and runnin for about 20 minutes before we hit the backed up traffic from the truck crash and then it was hours of sitting.

To pass the time we discussed black jack strategies and our most tramatic childhood movies. At one point Yamasaki and I decided to shut the car off and push it down the highway in neutral, “not because we have to, because we want to” as Yamasaki said. When traffic would come to a complete stop we would all get out and socialize with the rest of the stranded travelers.

Once we got through Tooele the freeway opened up and we were pushing the Honda Civic to the max. We arrived at the fights with just enough time to hit the bathroom, warm up Jake and go on.

The fight was the shortest part of the trip. Jake went out, pressed Lee to the cage, took him down and landed punches and elbows. Lee had a couple of submission attempts which Jake fought off as he continued to strike on the ground. Round two – Jake went out, had a couple of stand up exchanges and scored a nice low takedown. He then passed the guard, mounted and hammered away. Dave Seljested put a stop to the fight and raised the hand of the new Welter Weight Champion!

After the fight we celebrated with all of our friends and teammates and then Yamasaki snuck away to play some 21. After making a little scratch at the tables we headed up to our room and crashed at about 4am. This was one of the top 5 best weekends of my life!

Aaron Okura and Paul Roberts both represented the Bernales Institute in the Ultimate Combat Experience.

Aaron Okura went to decision with one of the toughest 135 pounders in the UCE. It was an all out war and a close fight. At times Aaron was able to out wrestle the wrestler by getting take downs and obtaining top position.

Pauls Roberts made short work of Kevin Hamby. He went after Hamby landing punches and kicks. It didn’t take long before the two of them hit the ground. Paul chained together 3 submission from his back in under 10 seconds and ended up finishing Hamby with a triangle choke in under 40 seconds of round 1. Paul has walked through a couple of the UCE’s top lightweights and is now going to be fighting Daniel Grass for the belt.

See the pictures from the shoot on the shopping page!

We were slangin a lot of baby oil and hittin mad bicep curls at Mushin for our Fight Core Shoot.

Yamasaki broke out the video camera and captured the dorkiness of me and Jake getting pumped up for the pics. I am sure that footage will end up on Damage Control at some point and I am terrifed to see it. None the less the shoot went really well and we captured some good pics for the online shopping cart that Sterling Okura is building right now.

CSW Camp 2009 takes the cake! I have been to every CSW camp that has ever been held. They have all been off the hook but this was the best one ever! Having a weekend this good all starts with the right company.

There was adventure from the moment we  arrived at our hotel. We got in late on Thursday night. There was an unusually large security presence at the hotel which seemed strange for such a nice area. The 5 of us crammed into a room with 2 beds. 2 of us in each bed and Kensei on the floor. When we got up Friday morning I noticed what appeared to be a huge blood stain on the box springs of my bed and then Yamasaki noticed blood splatters on my pillow. We did a little CSI action and later determined that it wasn’t blood afterall but it had us a little freaked out at first. I did my best to rub Yamasaki’s face on the stain but his Self Defense skills were too much for me to over come.

Camp was a total blast. We had a solid team there and the overall vibe was pretty cool. There are always a couple of maniacs there looking kill someone but we had identified most of them on the first day. One such maniac was Ben the Badger. An ex pro football player turned MMA fighter. He was big, fast, strong and knew what hew was doing. On top of all that he loved to bang. We ended up filming a couple of spots for DAMAGE CONTROL with him. He had skills and I figured he would make for a good segment on our show and I also thought maybe he would take it a little easier on us after we built a repoire. Well I was right on the first assumption, he showed some cool tricks but as for going any easier… no such luck.

The camp was taught mostly by Ajarn Nelson and Sensei Erik Paulson who would have been my top 2 picks out of anyone in the world for this camp. Marvin Cook also joined the Coaches for a section on boxing during day 2 which was very informative and entertaining!

On Saturday night we managed to get out to China Town for some dinner. The food kind of sucked to be honest (I’d take David’s Kitchen in Salt Lake over that place anyday) but I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard at dinner as we told some of our favorite gym stories and teased Kensei.

Everyone made it home in one piece. We all brought back some cool new moves and upped our game. It was one of the best weekends of my life. Can’t wait for next year.

I didn’t even realize how much my limited time with Billy had effected my game until Yamasaki pointed it out to me. I was at The Bernales Institute teaching an old Shooto Lock Flow when I realized how my exposure to Catch had connected so many of the dots.

I can say the same for Yamasaki’s game as well. He has been more difficult to deal with then ever before. The Catch training he received from Billy has brought out the best in him.

I just feel so fortunate to have received this opportunity and would like to sincerely thank Billy Robinson and Jake Shannon for making this possible.

If any of you ever get the chance to train with Billy Robinson I would be all over it!

Kensei “Alpha” Sato and Konrad “Rebar” Jones epitomized what Mushin Fighter Corps stands for in their debut fights in Vernal, Utah.

Kensei  took on Blake Sprouse who was once a student of Mushin and trained for his first few fights with our team. He has since moved to Vernal where he has been training with the Unbroken Circle team. This was Blakes 10th fight and Kensei’s 1st.

They came out and it was obvious that Blake wanted to get this fight to the ground as fast as possible but Kensei is a student of Yamasaki’s Anti-Grappling method and it worked like a charm. Kensei shut down one takedown attempt after another and at one point he even sent Blake head first into the cage by deflecting his shot. Unfortunately Kensei took a heavy shot right on the nose in the first minute of the fight and had to battle on while swallowing blood and struggling to breathe. Kensei did not seem what bit phased by his bloody nose though as he pressed forward with head kicks, axe kicks, and boxing combos. Kensei scored a beautiful double leg with ease showing how well rounded he is which is the mark of a Fighter Corps Graduate.

Many people agreed that his was the best fight of the night and promoter Mike Stidham even came over twice to congratulate him on his ”heart” and performance.

 We didn’t know anything about Konrad’s opponent going into this. When we arrived at weigh ins we got to see him for the first time and he was very tall so the game plan was to get a take down, control him from top position and pound him out which is exactly what Konrad did for 3 straight rounds. He transitioned from side control to north and south, passed the guard and landed strikes from the top in every position. It was really cool to see the reaction of the UCE regulars that had Konrad pegged as a straight kick boxer and he totally dominated the ground game against a very tough fighter.

Special thanks goes out to Brian Yamasaki for training these guys and to Shane Taylor who handled all of the logistics and cornering for the fight and thanks to Jake Paul and Emilee who also drove all the way to Vernal to support the team.