Kill Cliff FC
Bellator Welterweight World Championship) | |
Past titleholders | Vitor Belfort Michael Chandler Rashad Evans Robbie Lawler Luke Rockhold Logan Storley Kamaru Usman Aung La Nsang |
---|---|
Training facilities | Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S. |
Website | Official Website |
Kill Cliff FC, officially known as Kill Cliff Fight Club (formerly known as Sanford MMA, Hard Knocks 365, and Combat Club)[1] is a mixed martial arts gym based in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It was originally founded in 2017 by Henri Hooft and Greg Jones as Combat Club and later Hard Knocks 365[1][2][3] before being rebranded to Sanford MMA in 2019 after obtaining a sponsorship deal with Sanford Health.[3] In July 2022, the gym rebranded to Kill Cliff FC.[4]
Overview
In 2017, Henri Hooft left the Blackzilians and alongside Greg Jones, founded the gym, Combat Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.[1] This was later rebranded as Hard Knocks 365 after moving the gym to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to accommodate a bigger facility.[1][2][3] Some of the fighters who were originally training at the Blackzilians would join the new gym.
In 2019, Hard Knocks 365 rebranded to Sanford MMA after obtaining a sponsorship deal with Sanford Health.[3] A new training facility was opened in Deerfield Beach, Florida as part of the deal and Sanford Health also opened a supporting clinic adjacent to the team training facility.[5]
In July 2022, the gym rebranded to Kill Cliff FC after Kill Cliff, an energy drink and CBD company acquired naming the rights to the gym.[4]
The team includes roughly 40 fighters, 25 of whom fight within the largest three MMA promotions (UFC, Bellator and ONE), as well as former and current world champions.[6]
Kill Cliff FC is notable for producing former
Notable fighters
Mixed martial artists
UFC
- Kamaru Usman[3][10]
- Michael Chandler[3]
- Robbie Lawler[11]
- Luke Rockhold[12]
- Vitor Belfort[5]
- Rashad Evans[13]
- Gilbert Burns[13][10]
- Derek Brunson[3]
- Volkan Oezdemir[14]
- Vicente Luque[10]
- Michael Johnson[15]
- Stefan Struve[16]
- André Fialho[3]
- Takashi Sato[17]
- Randy Costa[18]
- Shavkat Rakhmonov[19]
- Li Jingliang[20]
- Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[21]
- Ian Garry[22]
- Rafael Fiziev[23]
Bellator MMA
ONE
PFL
KSW
Kickboxers
See also
References
- ^ a b c d VARSALLONE, JIM (April 21, 2021). "Henri Hooft and Greg Jones took it one step at a time to reach Sanford MMA, a game changer". Miami Herald.
- ^ a b Knocks 365, Hard. "Hard Knocks 365 Opens All-New Training Facility At Xtreme Action Park". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Carlson, Ollie (December 13, 2019). "Hard Knocks 365 rebrands to Sanford MMA with sponsorship from Sanford Health". thebodylockmma.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "'More financial power': Top gym Sanford MMA, rebranded to Kill Cliff FC". ESPN.com. July 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Sanford MMA facility opens in Florida with fights on the way". Sanford Health News. August 27, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Mixed Martial Arts". Sanford Sports Complex. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Mckeever, Lewis (June 24, 2020). "Kamaru Usman changes training camp ahead of title defense vs. teammate Gilbert Burns". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "Inside the split that led Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns to their tense main event". ESPN.com. February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "Gilbert Burns Opens Up On Sanford MMA Reunion With Kamaru Usman". MMA News. May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Vicente Luque Breaks Down Potential Fight Between Teammates Kamaru Usman & Gilbert Burns". MMA News. July 31, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ a b September 24, 2019 - 11am, Jeremy Fugleberg | (September 24, 2019). "Sanford Health buys into mixed martial arts, sponsors team of fighters". The Mitchell Republic. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ex-champ Luke Rockhold decides against retirement, angles for 2020 return". MMA Junkie. August 10, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "Gilbert Burns answers back at criticism from Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal for getting UFC 251 title fight". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Volkan". Sherdog. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Michael". Sherdog. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Steven Mowry is focused on 'Smashing people'". MyMMANews.com. March 28, 2020.
- ^ Nissi Icasiano (June 28, 2020). "Takashi Sato scores quickfire KO win at UFC on ESPN 12". asianmma.com.
- MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "5 Things You Might Not Know About Shavkat Rakhmonov". Sherdog. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Jingliang Li calls out Geoff Neal!". Asian MMA. April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Шавкат Рахмонов "подтянул" другого казахского бойца в UFC - Бокс/ММА". Sports.kz (in Russian).
- ^ "UFC's Ian Garry explains why he left Ireland to train at Sanford MMA: 'I want to be pushed'". MMA Junkie. April 5, 2022.
- ^ "Rafael Fiziev says he believes in his power". Asian MMA. July 6, 2022.
- ^ Buzz McClain (July 22, 2022). "A HUGE WEEKEND FOR KILL CLIFF FC FIGHTERS!". killcliff.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "Sanford Health to sponsor, support mixed martial arts team". Sanford Health News. September 23, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Tyrone Spong calls out ONE Championship heavyweight champion Brandon Vera | Asian MMA". AsianMMA. October 9, 2020.