Highlander MMA, once the top performing MMA fight team in the Louisville, KY area, has relocated to the Tampa Fight Factory in beautiful Tampa, FL.
The team is lead by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Black Belt, Mike Yanez, student of World Champion grappler, Master Pablo Popovitch.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the premier ground-fighting martial art. Made famous by Royce Gracie in the early UFCs in the mid-1990's, it specializes in submission grappling when both fighters are on the ground. Techniques include positional control (especially the "guard" position), and submissions such as chokes and arm locks.
It is worth noting that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu differentiates itself from standard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for its emphasis on self-defense rather than sports competition. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students will:
Learn to defend against punches and kicks from the standing position
Learn to neutralize an attacker’s stand up aggression while taking them to the ground, and maintaining the top position
Learn to defend and submit a larger opponent from the bottom position
Learn practical self -defense, including chokes, joint-locks, from both the standing and ground position
Testimonials
"Mike Yanez has been my student and friend for 11 years. His dedication and knowledge of competition is top notch. His students are as tough as they come anywhere in the country. His MMA team has a record of 70-17 in its first year and has shown strong Jiu Jitsu in the cage. Mike Yanez is extremely technical and very patient teacher and a great example of a good instructor. He treats everyone like famliy which I'm glad he has kept that tradition from my father and I."
Pablo Popovitch BJJ Black Belt
2007 World Jiu-Jitsu Champion
2007 USA Grappling Trials Champion
2007 Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championship - 2nd Place
2007 Atlantic Cup Superfight Champion
2005 Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championship - 2nd Place
National Champion USA- 10 times
Grapplers Quest Champion- 7 times
2004 USA Grappling Trials Champion
2003 North American World Submission Champion
Casca Grossa Pro division Champion
Music City Pro Division Champion
III Northeast Grappling Tournament Pro division Champion
Texas Submission Pro Division Champion
Friday, December 26, 2008
Team Popovitch Black Belts
Team Popovitch Black Belts(From left to right) Glenn Hall, Joel Brady, Mike Yanez, Kevin Albertini, Pablo Popovitch, Vagner Rocha, Zenov, Jay Moncaio and Marcus Aurelio.
Tampa Florida DEC 5th 2008- Turner wins a fight in 3 rounds over Brett Chism. Turner has won 3 times for the XFC and has moved to Tampa. He may fight for the XFC 205 title next, lets hope so! Good Job CT!
10-1 10 submissions Joe Heink had one loss on his flawless record. Neal Craft of walker mma beat Joe in a 3 rd DEC about 8 months ago. Nov 22nd 2008 Dayton Ohio Joe submits Craft in under 2 minutes. Good Job Joe!!!
