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.
