170lb U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Butler and the 135lb recent High School graduate Jeremy Gice - Both training out of the Universal Grappling Academy are preparing to make their MMA Pro Debuts on October 24, 2010. The event is the Gladiator Challenge "Royal Flush" which will be held at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA. Their teammates Matt Haggie, Tom Thompson, and Nelson Alvarado were suppossed to be on the card as well but will work towards a future show. Come see these 2 exciting athletes as they compete in the ultimate testing grounds of the cage: Tickets are on Sale Now and can be bought from either Jeremy or from the UGA. Please come out and support your teammates and their quest to be the next MMA champions.

August 20, 2010 The Gladiator Challenge held 15 fights at the Soboba Casino on this Friday night. The crowd wasn't as packed as in past events but those who were there saw some exciting fights. 2 veteran Universal Grappling Academy fighters, Tina "The Tigress" Austin and "Tall" Paul Karsky, did battle as did a UGA greenhorn in Ray Parenteau. Tina who weighed in at 121lbs faced a female who did not make weight and we were told weighed in at 150lbs; but when the truth came out, Tabitha Harvey weighed 200lbs. The Tigress didn't flinch and she went out and destroyed her opponent in the first round, winning by tko. Paul fought another returning fighter from the past glory days of Soboba MMA in "The Man of War" Melvin Costa. The first round went to Paul after some good exchanges and submission attempts, but in the 2nd round Paul seemed to give up due to poor conditioning and Melvin pounded out a 2nd round tko victory. Ray spent his time training with "Joe Stevenson's" Cobra Kai and it showed as he was tapped out in 30 seconds with an armbar. He showed where he wants to be as he wore UGA shorts and came out under the UGA banner, but as of Monday he will be a true UGA member and we'll make sure he Trains Hard & Finishes Strong!

Ryan Spangler is the World Jiu-Jitsu Champion!

The World Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu Championships was a tough 2 day tournament held in Southern California on Saturday July 31, and August 1, 2010. But on those days only 1 person stood out above the rest defeating former and current champions from all over the world. His name is Ryan "The Strangler" Spangler from the Universal Grappling Academy.

Not even the mighty "Athena"  the very best student from "Riverside Submission" who has 2 years more experience and 12lbs as an advantage could stop our UGA Super Star as he beat her by a score of 4-0.

Congratulations and great job to Ryan and his his father "George' for all of their hard work and for being our World Champion teammates.

World Champion: Ryan Spangler - 1st place (no Gi)  Advanced Division / 1st place (Gi) Yellow Belt Division

Are you Ready?

Ok fight fans it's just a few days away before Chloe' Johnson, Heath Cassol, and Kjell Cordero fight at the Gladiator Challenge event in San Jacinto CA.. 8 long weeks of training and sacrifice all come down to 9 minutes of combat in the steel cage. At this event we'll be flying our new Sponsor Banner which shows our appreciation for those who support our team. Ticket sales from our team have been weak for this event, but we hope to get more support in the future from our teammates and family members. Thanks to all of those who are going to fly the UGA colors. Thank you DayOneWebsites.com, Aims Insurance, SandBlasting Services Inc., U.S. Armed Forces, Desert Valley Tow, Bring it on Paintball, Streetz Fight Wear, and Bosomo Designs!

June 27, 2010 Is when Tyson Johnson will be hosting The Gladiator Challenge MMA Event that will be held at the Soboba Casino and that's where Chloe' "The Cure" Johnson (0-1) and teammate Bobby "Da Legend" Trivitt (1-2) plan to avenge their previous losses from April 25th. Both fighters seem to have a renewed desire to train harder for this upcoming event. Also on the card will be UGA members Kjell Cordero and Heath Cassol  who will both be making their MMA debut in the heavyweight division. We hope to have all the support from our team, friends, and family for this upcoming show. Tickets are on sale now from each fighter and at the Universal Grappling Academy. Call us today at (760) 241-1899 or come get your tickets today from us at 15370 Cholame Rd. #6 Victorville, CA. 92392.

Sunday April 25, 2010 The Universal Grappling Academy Fight team had hoped to go 5-0 at this Gladiator Challenge event "Maximum Force", but on this day as the Gods of War gave them perfect weather, they gave very little else. First, 2 of the 5 team members Chris Givens and Keno Saunders were dropped from the card, second The pride of the UGA's female division Chloe' Johnson was too overwhelmed by bright lights, noise, 4,000 screaming fans, etc. and was choked out in the first round. Great job for getting out there and giving it a good shot Chloe'. Third our U.S. Army representative Bobby Trivitt fought a vailant 3 rounds against a very tough Marine but ended up losing the bout. The 5'7 169lb Tyson Johnson was the only team member to win his bout against his 6'2 205lb opponent in 1:07 of the first round by TKO. The 2 fighter first began the feeling out process and Tyson seemed to be timing his  shots until a groin kick came from Brendan which seemed to fire up "The IronMan" who then shot in for a double legged take down and and proceeded to punch his opponent until his nose exploded and he tapped out!

On Thursday April 22, 2010 the Universal Grappling Academy members got their first look at the long awaited new 2010 edition of the UGA Logo. Only a limited suply of the new shirts were available and they were bought up fast. Head Coach Tyson Johnson said "It has been 15 years with the same logo that is known, respected, and loved world wide. I am not trying to replace the classic UGA logo or look, just advance into the next generation and give a variety to the brand name. This new look is one of a few different options that may or may not come out in the future. I just hope everybody likes our new design. I was excited to see how many people jumped on the chance to buy the new product as soon as I had it in the Dojo".

The new design shirts are only $5 more ($20) than the classic UGA ($15) shirts and are well worth it. UGA member Fernando Hernandez was so excited that he didn't even wait until Tyson was at the Gym before meeting with him to buy some of the new apparel. Hernandez said " This is more than worth the $5 additional cost, I love the new look and updated feel of this logo". A large order of 2010 edition shirts has been oredered for men, Women, and Children's sizes that will be at the Academy within 10 days.

* Emailing your ticket request and credit card info to tyson@tysonjohnson.com (secured)

Get your tickets from us today and come watch as the husband and wife team of Tyson and Chloe' Johnson join 3 other UGA members at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA. on Sunday April 25th to fight in the Gladiator Challenge MMA event. "The IronMan" Tyson Johnson will be making another return as both Ring Announcer and Fighter. Chloe' will be making her fight debut as she battles a tough 125lb prospect from the O.C. KickBoxing camp. Bobby Trivitt makes his 3rd return to the cage and is looking for his next win. Plus 2 more fight debuters will be working the heavyweight class as Chris Givens and Keno Saunders prepare for their first experience in the cage. As a team we are looking to sell 300 tickets, so please come buy them from us here at the Universal Grappling Academy and encourage all your friends and family to do the same. We can use all of your support and want to show the world that the UGA is the Way! 

Sunday February 21, 2010 the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California held the Gladiator Challenge "Vision Quest" event. That is where UGA women's competitor Sylvia "ShotGun" Ruiz made her Pro-Fight debut. Sylvias bout was the final match of the 24 fight card and was over in just 49 seconds of the first round as she quickly disposed of her opponent Tina Willis by way of Rear naked Choke. Competitors Nelson Alvarado who was making his fight debut and Daryl Smith (1-0) didn't fare so well in their matchups, both losing by TKO. Bobby Trivitt and "Tall" Paul Karsky were there and expecting to fight but their opponents fell off the card, both of them will be seen on the April 25th card.

8 year old Ryan "The Strangler" Spangler, The UGA's top kids (5-9) competitor continues his dominance in combat sports as he has now entererd the Cagwa Wrestling Tournament Circuit. After his first 2 tournaments, Ryan has taken home 1 Gold and 2 Silvers! "We are very proud of the 2009 UGA Competitor of the Year, I wish we had 100 more just like him" says head coach Tyson Johnson. The Strangler is currently sponsored by a major MMA contributor "Bad Boy clothing & athletic wear".

Sunday-February 21, 2010 The Soboba Casino holds another Gladiator Challenge event that will see 5 UGA members compete.  Sylvia (160), Nelson (205), Bobby(205), Daryl(185), and Paul(205) will be doing battle in the cage at the San Jacinto facility! This will be the debut fight for both Sylvia and Nelson as they have devoted the last 6 weeks of their lives preparation for their first time in the cage. Tall Paul has over 20 fights and comes in as the seasoned veteran of the team. Bobby and Daryl make their 2nd appearance at the Soboba Casino and look to repeat their victories of last November  2009. "The IronMan" Tyson Johnson will be hosting the event. Come out, enjoy the show, and support Americas favorite Team!

A Universal Grappling Academy team of only 6 competitors went to the "Judo" Gene Lebell submission tournament at Ontario High School in California. 5 kids and 1 adult went to war in multiple divisions and came out with a 2nd place Team tournament trophy! CONGRATULATIONS to our 6 teammates who went to war for us! Ryan Spangler 1st, Cotton Nissen 2nd, JesusLuis Vino Flores 2nd, Dylan Wood 3rd x2, Christian Hernandez 3rd, and Cory Schwoebel 2nd place. We are proud of them all for their hard work and dedication, especially since all but Ryan were competing in their first tournament.

It was a cool Fall night as the Gladiator Challenge returned to the Soboba Casino after a couple year lay-off. There were 20 fights that had over 3000+ MMA fans going wild. The Universal Grappling Academy team dominated with  4 out of 5 wins for the night. Team Captain "The Ironman" Tyson Johnson once again made history as he started the night out in his tuxedo and hosting the fights to announcing his own fight, and then back again after defeating his opponent in just 47 seconds of the first round by TKO. Daryl Smith had a good fight that ended after 1:15 of the 2nd round by Tko, Bobby Trivitt found his first MMA win after just 1:01 of the first round by way of verbal tap-out, while the surprise of the night Tim Lindsay showed incredible heart and a strong will too win by defeating his opponent by split decision. Danny Gutierrez was the only team member that fell short after taking a hard shot too the groin and then the head in the first round of his fight. Also on the card "Ko Kid" Keith Berry walked right through his opponent as did Fernando Gonzalez in the final bout of the night. Richard Schiller the GC Featherweight champion had a successful title defense against a tough Eric Machado. Other winners of the night were - Miguel Ruvacaba, Travis Browne, Robbie Peralta, Jewon Peoples, Alan Roach, Jose Acuna, Richie Thompson, Xavier stokes, and Walel Watson. Last but not least was GC promoters eldest son Teddy Williams making his fight debut and winning by TKO after 1:15 in the second round. A special thanks to all of the UGA members, supporters friends, and family members who supported us through our training and fights.