MMA in New Jersey will have an exciting night tomorrow, as the Bellator Fighting Championships comes to Atlantic City, NJ. Bellator 68 will feature a four bout main card, including the featherweight tournament finale between Bellator veterans Marlon Sandro and Daniel Strauss. The event will also feature an impressive preliminary card, including local north NJ Pro MMA fighter, Claudio Ledesma’s bantamweight battle against Anthony Leone.
Bellator 68 will be Ledesma’s second Bellator fight. This past October, he won his debut Bellator fight against Brian Kelleher, by unanimous decision. This was followed by an impressive win, also by unanimous decision, over Pedro Gonzalez in February’s Cage Fury Fighting Championship, bringing his Pro Record to 6-2. Based on his impressive performance in those fights, Ledesma was subsequently signed to a 3 fight deal with the Bellator league. Bellator 68 tomorrow night will be the first of the three fights. Ledesma’s gradual ascendency over the past 4 years is a testimony to the quality training available for MMA in New Jersey.
Ledesma, previously a college basketball player, had no previous fighting experience when he began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu less than 5 years ago, at Real World Mixed Martial Arts in Denville, NJ. RWMMA is home to Team Renzo Gracie Denville, one of an elite group of Renzo Gracie affiliate schools in the US and a proud provider of superior training for MMA in New Jersey. The Gracie family originated what has come to be known as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It was introduced to the US when Royce Gracie demonstrated its superiority as a martial art in the original UFC fights in the 1980s. Renzo Gracie has also played an important role in refining the sport and bringing it to the masses, as a Pro MMA fighter and through his academies that pass on the amazing legacy of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Today, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a core part of pro and amateur MMA fights. To train Gracie Jiu Jitsu is to learn the sport directly from the source and Ledesma’s success demonstrates the results that can be obtained with hard work, talent and superior coaching.
Ledesma’s coaching team cornering him in tomorrow night’s fight includes Real World Mixed Martial Arts owner and Head Instructor, George Sernack. Also cornering for him and core to Ledesma’s success is Garrett Goldsberry, owner and Head Instructor at North Jersey Mixed Martial Arts in Lafeyette, where Ledesma trains as part of the school’s MMA competition team. The third and equally important coach in Ledesma’s corner since the start is world kickboxing champion, Reggie Goode, who trains Ledesma at both facilities.
For those interested in MMA in New Jersey, whether you want to train to be a champion like Claudio Ledesma or for fitness and hobby, the possibility is right at your doorstep. Real World Mixed Martial Arts offers beginner and advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training for men, women and children. The school also features kickboxing and MMA classes for adults and teens.
The Real World Mixed Martial Arts family and Team Renzo Gracie Denville are so proud of their teammate, Claudio Ledesma. His achievements as an athlete and unbelievable work are impressive and inspiring, but what is most remarkable about Ledesma is his humble, and amazingly positive attitude that makes him a role model for people of all ages. He is a perfect representative of the core values that are inherent in Gracie Jiu Jitsu and which are core to the families that train at Real World Mixed Martial Arts and North Jersey Mixed Martial Arts. Ledesma shows how MMA in New Jersey should be done- with total dedication and honor.
