Kill Cliff FC
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]
| Est. | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Henri Hooft Greg Jones |
| Primary trainers | Henri Hooft Greg Jones Jason Strout Kami Barzini Corey Peacock |
| Past titleholders | Vitor Belfort Rashad Evans Robbie Lawler Luke Rockhold Kamaru Usman Aung La Nsang |
| Training facilities | Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Website | Official Website |
Overview
In 2017, Henri Hooft left the Blackzilians and alongside Greg Jones, founded the gym, Combat Club in Boynton Beach, Florida.[1] This later rebranded as Hard Knocks 365 after moving the gym to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in order 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 UFC Welterweight Champion, Kamaru Usman.[3] However, after being scheduled to fight Kill Cliff FC teammate Gilbert Burns at UFC 258, Usman left the gym in June 2020 to join Trevor Wittman at ONX Sports in Denver, Colorado.[7][8] In 2022, Usman returned to Kill Cliff FC to prepare for his title defense against Leon Edwards at UFC 278. Usman subsequently lost his championship.[9]
Notable people
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
ONE
- Aung La Nsang[3]
- Martin Nguyen
- Brandon Vera[3]
PFL
Kickboxers
See also
References
- ^ a b c d VARSALLONE, JIM (21 April 2021). "Henri Hooft and Greg Jones took it one step at a time to reach Sanford MMA, a game changer". Miami Herald.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Knocks 365, Hard. "Hard Knocks 365 Opens All-New Training Facility At Xtreme Action Park". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Carlson, Ollie (13 December 2019). "Hard Knocks 365 rebrands to Sanford MMA with sponsorship from Sanford Health". thebodylockmma.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ a b "'More financial power': Top gym Sanford MMA, rebranded to Kill Cliff FC". ESPN.com. 1 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Sanford MMA facility opens in Florida with fights on the way". Sanford Health News. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ "Mixed Martial Arts". Sanford Sports Complex. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ Mckeever, Lewis (2020-06-24). "Kamaru Usman changes training camp ahead of title defense vs. teammate Gilbert Burns". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ "Inside the split that led Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns to their tense main event". ESPN.com. 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ^ "Gilbert Burns Opens Up On Sanford MMA Reunion With Kamaru Usman". MMA News. 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ a b c "Vicente Luque Breaks Down Potential Fight Between Teammates Kamaru Usman & Gilbert Burns". MMA News. 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ a b Sep 24th 2019 - 11am, Jeremy Fugleberg | (24 September 2019). "Sanford Health buys into mixed martial arts, sponsors team of fighters". The Mitchell Republic. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ "Ex-champ Luke Rockhold decides against retirement, angles for 2020 return". MMA Junkie. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ a b "Gilbert Burns answers back at criticism from Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal for getting UFC 251 title fight". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Volkan". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Michael". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ "Steven Mowry is focused on 'Smashing people'". MyMMANews.com. 28 March 2020.
- ^ Nissi Icasiano (June 28, 2020). "Takashi Sato scores quickfire KO win at UFC on ESPN 12". asianmma.com.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (December 5, 2020). "UFC 259's Randy Costa hopes to continue gaining promotional push with fan-friendly style". MMAjunkie.com.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "5 Things You Might Not Know About Shavkat Rakhmonov". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ "Jingliang Li calls out Geoff Neal!". Asian MMA. 18 April 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. 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Rafael Fiziev says he believes in his power". Asian MMA. 6 July 2022.
- ^ Rodriguez, Victor (2020-12-09). "Report: Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson returns to MMA, signs with Bellator". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ a b c "Sanford Health to sponsor, support mixed martial arts team". Sanford Health News. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
- ^ "Tyrone Spong calls out ONE Championship heavyweight champion Brandon Vera | Asian MMA". AsianMMA. 9 October 2020.
External links
- Official Website