JJ began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 17. After being
exposed to the art by his uncle, Paul Pugsley, he began training with
Fabio Santos
in San Diego, California. JJ received his blue belt from Fabio while
training with a talented group of individuals such as (black belts)
Fernando ‘Margarida’ Pontes, Jeff Higgs and
James Nielson, (brown belts)
Brent Schutlick and
Jocko Willinik and current Abu Dhabi Super fight champion and Pride veteran,
Dean Lister.
After taking a break from Jiu-jitsu to join the military, JJ returned
to the game to train exclusively with Dean where he received his purple
belt while he began cross training in Muay Thai and boxing in
preparation for his MMA debut.
JJ has trained with some of the top MMA competitors including
Rickson Gracie, Dan Henderson, Maurice Smith, Marc Laimon, Brandon Vera and Ricco Rodriguez. Additionally, he was invited to the Big Bear Training camp of former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion
Tito Ortiz for preparation of his fights against
Patrick Cote and
Vitor Belfort. JJ has competed in and won several jiu-jitsu tournaments including the 2003 Pan-Ams of no gi. He is
4-0 in MMA competition and is a
King of the Cage veteran.
He has taught defensive tactics and ground fighting to Law Enforcement
Officers from such agencies as the US Border Patrol and the San Diego
Police Department, as well as members of elite military units like
Marine Force Recon, US Navy SEALS and Navy EOD. JJ teaches No-Gi
jiu-jitsu and conditioning classes as well as MMA training for the
fighters and students at
Gumm Mixed Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. His world-class training and professional fight experience make him a valuable asset to the students of
Gumm Mixed Martial Arts & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
