Brad Gumm has been training in Martial Arts since the age of eight. He started his training in Karate, in which he earned his third degree black belt. Throughout his many years of training in Karate, he felt that these techniques are not effective in a real street fight or self-defense situation. With this thought, Brad sought to find a more effective fighting style.
Brad realized that he needed to learn ground-grappling skills, and knew that Judo contained some grappling. He began to research Judo schools and found
Champion Martial Arts in Littleton, Colorado. Brad began training in both Judo and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu in 1996. During his Judo training, a close friend introduced him to the
Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) Vale Tudo fighting shows. This was the first time that he had ever seen the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As Brad witnessed the extreme effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, proven in the earliest UFC’s, he determined that he must learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Unfortunately, at the time there were no reputable instructors in the Colorado area.
While training at Champion Martial Arts, Brad was asked by his trainer Bing Tran to start competing in Vale Tudo competitions. In 1996, Brad began professionally fighting in the sport now known as Mixed Martial Arts.
In 1997, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor named
David Ruiz moved to Colorado from California where he had trained under
Royce Gracie and
Rigan Machado. Brad began studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the instruction of David Ruiz at Champion Martial Arts. Brad has been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 1997 and currently holds
the first black belt earned under David Ruiz. He has trained with a variety of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experts including
Mauricio “Tinguinha” Mariano, Helio “Soneca” Moreira, Rigan Machado, John Machado, Roger Machado, and of course his original instructor and close friend,
David Ruiz.
Throughout Brad’s many years as a professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter, he also studied other equally effective and important forms of fighting styles. He has studied the important aspects of
wrestling including takedowns and takedown defenses and currently trains wrestling techniques with wrestling expert,
Vern Baca. He has been training in
Muay Thai Kickboxing since 1998 and has trained with a variety of fighters including
Bas Rutten, Duane “Bang” Ludwig, and Oscar Martinez. Brad has been training in Boxing since 2000 under the direction of boxers
Denny Nelson and
Jerome Jackson.
Brad has been a professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter since 1996. He fights as a welterweight (170 lbs) and holds a professional MMA fight record of
22-8-2. Some of Brad’s most notable opponents’ include
Shonie Carter, CJ Fernandes, Brian Dunn, Joe Stevenson, Brad Blackburn, Eric Davilla, and
Antoine Skinner. Brad has fought in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) twice, he is the
Ring of Fire Rocky Mountain Welterweight Champion, the first
Gladiator Challenge Middleweight Champion, and three time
Bas Rutten Invitational Tournament Champion. Brad trains with local professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter
Nate “The Great” Marquardt. He continues his career of professional Mixed Martial Arts fighting, and you can see him in a variety of shows including the
Ring of Fire and the
IFC.
Brad began teaching various forms of mixed martial arts including Boxing, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1994. He currently teaches children from the early age of four to 16 and adults including both men and women.
“It is my goal for each and every student training at Gumm Mixed Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to take home an educational, disciplined, and physically challenging experience, but most of all, I want each student to have fun and enjoy the training!
I look forward to training with you.”
Train Hard!
Brad Gumm
