Bali MMA

From WikiAlpha
Revision as of 12:05, 17 October 2021 by Sunkyjay (Talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{Infobox company | name = | logo = 300px | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = |...")

(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search
Founder(s) Steve Suryadinata
Don-Carlo Clauss
Anthony Leone
Andrew Leone
Website https://www.balimma.com/

Bali MMA (founded August 2014) is a Mixed martial arts gym located in Bali, Indonesia.[1] The gym has welcomed high-profile athletes in the past, including UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling, current UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko, Alistair Overeem, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Minotauro), and many others. [2][3]

Background

The Leones, who grew up in Long Island, New York, were natural athletes who shared a passion for surfing and wrestling. That passion soon extended to other martial arts, but options were extremely limited

“We started training at first at a karate school,”

Andrew says.

“That was the only thing in our town that was outside of wrestling, and I remember going to wrestling practice, and my coach would laugh at me because I would leave 10 minutes early to go to karate practice. That was when we were 
14, or 15 years old.“Then Anthony got a car, so slowly we started driving to other places. Anthony has been a big inspiration since the beginning, just pushing me to that level.”

While Andrew was exploring a wide range of disciplines, he was experiencing the most success in wrestling. He became a two-time All-State wrestler, and he received a partial scholarship to attend Missouri Valley College and join the school’s wrestling squad in 2008.

By 2014, the Leones had really begun to immerse themselves in the world of professional mixed martial arts. That May, the duo moved to the Indonesian capital, when Steve Suryadinata offered them co-ownership of Jakarta Muay Thai & MMA. Upon accepting, the brothers developed the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts programs at the academy.

That relationship with Suryadinata ended up being incredibly fruitful. Knowing the Leones’ love for surfing, the co-owner took them for a quick trip to Bali, where he suggested they build a training center in the heart of paradise. “We saw an opportunity here,” Andrew says. “There was clearly a market in Bali for people who wanted to do training vacations, but there was a lack of high-level facilities. Nobody at the time could offer the world-class, international training that we [could ultimately offer].”

In August 2014, the brothers, Suryadinata, and coach Don Carlo-Clauss bought space in an old warehouse and began to build their new home.

One month later, the team was ready to open its doors. And while that early version of Bali MMA lacked the facilities seen in high-profile training centers, the opening was met with incredible early success. By January 2015, the guys constructed the ring and added the finishing touches to the facility. They even had a graffiti artist make some cool murals. With that, the big names followed. “Ev Ting came on over in the beginning,” Andrew says. “We had Tiffany van Soest join our team – she wanted to be a part of what we were building. The Subba brothers (Gianni and Keanu) came, and my brother was fighting all over Europe, so we had a little trampoline effect. That kind of got the ball rolling.”

Overview

Bali MMA was founded by Steve Suryadinata, Don-Carlo Clauss, Anthony Leone, and Andrew Leone. The team recruited world-class coaches and athletes from around the globe to collectively form one of the strongest competition teams in Asia today. The team is ranked Top 10 in Asia by Fox Sports and is proudly called home by a number of world champions in MMA, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Bali MMA has been a hotbed among international athletes, with the likes of Glory Super Bantamweight Champion Tiffany Van Soest and One Championship Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan who both have previously prepared their fights at the gym.

Our talented coaches are always striving to provide you with the best instruction and a tough workout within a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It’s this unbeatable combination of quality training and inclusiveness. Our professional fight team work closely with our members provide them with expert guidance as well as motivation and inspiration. The gym also continues to get regular visitors from countries all over the world, including Australia and New Zealand. In fact, reigning ONE Middleweight World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang has encouraged some of his compatriots to seek out the training center if they are looking to take their game to the next level.

“We have a good relationship with Aung La N Sang, who sends us a lot of these athletes that are diamonds in the rough,” Andrew says. “They already have the striking, and we are able to give them the grappling they need, so it 
comes back to trust from the community.”

The Leones are now living the dream on their own terms, and they are just as thrilled to be giving back to both the local martial arts community and the international athletes who come to Bali MMA.

Instructors

Anthony Leone

BOXING

Anthony Leone is a top-ranked Bantamweight fighter with 25 professional fights under his belt. Anthony is a BJJ black belt and a former world title contender for Bellator. He placed second in the Pan-American No-Gi Championships and is a World No-Gi Bronze medalist.

Andrew Leone

NO GI & KIDS

Andrew Leone is a contracted fighter under Asia’s biggest MMA promotion, ONE Championship. Andrew is a former world title contender at 135, a formidable wrestler, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Olavo Abreu.

Don Carlo-Clauss

Wrestling & MMA Coach

Don-Carlo is a two-time New York State wrestling champion and a retired Strikeforce and WEC Veteran. He puts a lifetime of experience and technical knowledge to use as the head MMA and wrestling coach at Bali MMA.

Mike Ikelei

Striking

Hailing from Elite Thai Kickboxing under Jason Suttie, Mike Ikilei is the head striking coach at Bali MMA. Within the last decade, Mike has coached beginners through to multiple national and international champions in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Boxing. Mike is also a certified Personal Trainer.

João Paolo

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Joao Paulo is a three-degree Brazilian jiujitsu black belt. Joao started BJJ in Minas Gerais, Brazil, at aged 16 under Master Paulao Rezende. He received his black belt in 2006 from Master Wado at Team De La Riva Florianopolis. He’s been teaching Jiu-Jitsu in Asia since 2013.

Reference