 | |
| Est. | 2011 (start) 2017 (defunct) |
|---|---|
| Primary trainers | |
| Past titleholders | |
| Training facilities | Boca Raton, Florida |
The Blackzilians was a professional team of fighters in mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling located in South Florida. The team had included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Eddie Alvarez and Kamaru Usman.
Owned by Glenn Robinson, Blackzilians, started when MMA fighters Jorge Santiago, Danillo Villefort, Yuri Villefort, and Gesias Cavalcante left American Top Team. [1] The name 'Blackzilians' was coined when Strikeforce Middleweight Danillo Villefort was looking through their management's website and pointed out to Robinson that every fighter (at the time) was Black or Brazilian. [2]
It was reported on September 20, 2018, that Glenn Robinson, Blackzilians founder, had died of a suspected heart attack. [3]
As of 2017, the Blackzilians as a gym is considered defunct. [4] [5] Many of its members have left to join Sanford MMA, now Kill Cliff Fight Club (founded by Blackzilians trainers Henry Hooft and Greg Jones) which is considered a successor to the Blackzilians. [5]
Randall Duane Couture is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he became a three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, an interim UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, making him a six-time UFC Champion and the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament winner. He is the first of nine fighters to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions. He currently serves as a commentator and analyst for the Professional Fighters League.
Alistair Cees Overeem is a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fighter to hold world titles in MMA and K-1 kickboxing at the same time. Overeem is also a one-time challenger for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Rashad Evans is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 in 2005. In 2008, Evans won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and in 2019, was inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame.
Valentijn Overeem is a Dutch retired professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor since 1996, he has previously fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, RINGS, KSW, the World Fighting Alliance, K-1, M-1 Global, Its Showtime, World Victory Road, and Strikeforce. He is the older brother of fellow MMA Superstar Alistair Overeem. Overeem has notable wins over fighters such as Randy Couture and Renato Sobral.
Nathan Joel Marquardt is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight and welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 1999, he is a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion and a three-time Pancrase Middleweight Champion.
Keith Jardine is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce.
Antônio Silva is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who formerly competed in the Heavyweight division. Silva has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, Cage Rage, Fight Nights Global, World Victory Road, K-1 HERO'S, and Cage Warriors. He is the former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion, and Cage Warriors Super Heavyweight Champion.
Sean Salmon is an American retired mixed martial artist and a former columnist for MMA news site MMAjunkie.com. Salmon has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and King of the Cage.
Tyrone Clinton Spong is a Surinamese-Dutch professional boxer and mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. As a boxer, he held the WBC and WBO Latino heavyweight titles in 2018. In kickboxing, he is the former WFCA cruiserweight champion, Glory 95kg Slam Champion and It's Showtime 95MAX World champion.
Junior dos Santos is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweight Champion. As a professional wrestler, dos Santos made appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a member of the American Top Team stable.
Danillo Villefort is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Villefort has fought for the UFC, WEC, IFL, World Series of Fighting, and Professional Fighters League fighting in their Middleweight division.
James Adam McSweeney is a British retired kickboxer and mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, McSweeney is well known for being a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights and competing in the UFC, but he has also competed in major European promotions such as KSW, Cage Rage and BAMMA.
Neil Melanson is an American submission grappling coach. Melanson specializes in catch wrestling, while drawing elements from judo, and focuses his coaching specifically, but not exclusively, on grappling in mixed martial arts. He is especially known for his guard work, leg locks and triangle chokes. He is currently the head grappling coach at Jaco Hybrid Training Center. He is the former head grappling coach at both Xtreme Couture Las Vegas, Blackzilians and Alliance MMA.
Tom Niinimäki is a Finnish professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Yuri Villefort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC and Strikeforce. He is the younger brother of fellow mixed martial artist Danillo Villefort.
Michael “Mike” Dolce is an American trainer, strength and conditioning coach, weight-cut coach, author, nutrition and fitness expert, and motivational speaker. He is a former mixed martial artist.
Michael Lee Graves is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Titan FC, where he is the former Welterweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2013, he formerly competed for the UFC and was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians.
Henri Hooft, also known as Harry Hooft, is a Dutch former kickboxer and trainer. He is the head trainer at Kill Cliff FC and formerly the Blackzilians.
Jackson Wink MMA Academy is a mixed martial arts gym based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The gym has been featured in several sports documentaries and has been called one of the best MMA gyms in the world by various MMA magazines.
Kill Cliff FC, officially known as Kill Cliff Fight Club 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 before being rebranded to Sanford MMA in 2019 after obtaining a sponsorship deal with Sanford Health. In July 2022, the gym rebranded to Kill Cliff FC.
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