I’ve known Ed for 8 years. He helped me get signed with American Top Team. He is one of the most well rounded MMA Trainers I know. Consider this, Ed Clay could compete at a professional level in ANY of the sports that are needed to be an MMA fighter. He's a black belt in BJJ, pro level Thai Boxer, college level wrestler, and most people don't know this, but his boxing is probably his biggest strength. His dedication to his students is admirable and his no nonsense, no BS approach to training has made him highly respected nationwide. I would recommend anyone to train at Nashville MMA as I have done a number of times over the years!
Jeff “The Snowman” Monson UFC & Pride Veteran Abu Dhabi World Champion
If you want to train real Mixed Martial Arts in the Nashville area, you
might as well train with one of the best trainers in the country. He has
been a part of my training camps over the years and I can tell you that Ed
Clay is one of the most well rounded MMA trainers around. Whether you want
to train BJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing, or wrestling, Ed has extensive background
in everything. Ed was doing real MMA before people knew what real MMA was!
I can't imagine living in Nashville and not training with him...There is
no other choice but Nashville MMA!
Brandon “The Truth” Vera UFC Heavyweight Contender
Dustin has been training at with us at NMMA for almost a year now. He has a record of 2-2 according to sherdog.com with his last fight being for Strikeforce here in Nashville. Dustin shattered is hand with the first punch thrown in the fight but was unable to finish his opponent due to the injury. Following the fight, Dustin had major surgery to rebuild his hand but is now on the fast track to recovery. Look for D-West on an upcoming fight card real soon...
John is one of the UFC’s most exciting up and coming fighters. He is a former NAIA National Wrestling Champion from Gardendale, Al. The 25-year-old athlete first started training Mixed Martial Arts in 2007. By 2009 he earned a purple belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu and solid stand up. He finished his amateur career with a record of 7-0 and made his pro debut in 2009 against Patrick Mandio. In his early pro career he has fought veterans such as Roberto Traven, Jim Hammortree and Jeremiah Riggs. He then made his UFC debut in January 2010 against Gerald Harris. Since then he has defeated Canadian fighter Jason MacDonald on UFC 113. John is looking to improve his 5-1 record at UFC 118 on August 28th against Dan Miller.
Luke was a Tennessee state champion wrestling for Montgomery Central. He has been training with us here at NMMA for almost a year and has an MMA record of 2-0. We are expecting big things out of Luke due to his great wrestling base, toughness and work ethic. Look forward to Luke trying to improve his record to 3-0 this fall at the next Gameness Fighting Championship in October.
Camacho is a phenomenal athlete with vicious speed and instincts. He was a top recruit on the football field coming out of Southern California in high school before attending University of Hawaii. After one year on the "Big Island" he made the decision to follow one of his coaches to University of Tennessee-Chattanooga where he played his way to All-American status. Following that, Chris was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs where he had a short stint in the NFL. Since then, he has been focused on nothing but being the world champion in the light weight division. His MMA career has taken off like a rocket to a 4-0 perfect record with 2 out cold KO's. Chris is looking to make his professional debut this fall for Gameness Fighting Championship. Pay attention...
Chris was a NHSCA National Champion as a standout high school wrestler in Indiana. He then went on to wrestle at Cleveland State University before transferring to Indiana University. Chris started his fight career prematurely while he was still a student and has thus far compiled a record of 5-3. Don't expect to see the number in the loss column go up any now that he is training full time at NMMA!
Dante Lawson started out wrestling in highschool here in Nashville and continued wrestling in college at Carson Newman. He is a very powerful fighter with fast hands. His MMA record is 3-1.
Chris Vining has been training Brazilian jiu-jitsu for 4 years at Nashville MMA. He is an accomplished grappler and MMA fighter. His current MMA record is 5-0. He has taken the last 4 months off to concentrate on his weaknesses as he has goals to make MMA his career. Look for big things for Chris in the future.
"The Italian Beast" Ryan Delorenzo has a MMA record of 6-1 including a win over seasoned pro Rhomez Brower in 2005. He is a standup fighter that has a list of impressive wins. Ryan is currently working on his brazilian jiu-jitsu where he is a blue belt and would like to fight in early 2010.
Josh "The War Hammer" Schockman is one of the original fighters out of Nashville MMA as he started with the gym in 2002. He is a vicious Thai Boxer with good takedown defense and a solid ground game. His MMA record is 9-2 and both losses were at heavyweight.
He is a UFC veteran and now fights at 205lbs where he now hopes to make another run at the best fighters in the division. He is co owner of Nemesis MMA in Murfreesboro.
Lance Patrick is the head Thai instructor at Nashville MMA and has a MMA record of 5-1-1(nc). He is a purple belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu and has fought in shows all over the country. In 2009 a neck injury has sidelined him and he has focused on training the up and coming fighters here at the gym.
His past vicorys have included a highlight real armbar and a unforgetable KO in the Gameness Fighting Championships. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Lance.
Cory Robison is the 2009 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion as a purple belt and is one of only 8 americans to win the world as a purple belt or higher. He started wrestling in highschool and has a relentless attacking game on the ground. His current MMA record is 1-0 as he just started his MMA career. Cory is focusing on his stand up and has hopes to make a run at the WEC 135lb title in 2011.
Dustin Ortiz is a native to Tennessee, graduating from Franklin High School in 2006 where he was a standout wrestler. Dustin has been with us at NMMA for 2 years now and has been nothing short of impressive. He started off his career with a 7-1 amateur record, obtaining the WKA Tennessee State Title at 135 lbs. Since turning pro in 2009, Dustin has compiled a professional record of 5-0 competing in organizations such as Strikeforce in the 125lb. and 135 lb. divisions. Dustin is one of the hardest working fighters in the gym and we see no signs of him slowing down any time soon. Look for him very soon making his way to Japan and the WEC to meet his goal of being a world champion.
Dave "Pee Wee" Herman is widely regarded as one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world. The 6"5 245lb division 1 wrestler from Inidana University has ammassed a 21-1 mixed martial arts record and is ranked as high as 21 in the world on on various MMA polls.
Dave has never been the distant in any of his fights and has 16 knockouts and 5 submissions. He has fought in Elite XC, Sengoku and Bellator. His one loss to Mu Bae Choi was an eye opener for Dave and what Dave calls "the best thing that could have ever happened to him". Since that fight Dave has focused on training and won 3 straight fights including knocking out MMA legend Don Frye in just one minute. Dave hopes to fight at least 5 times in 2010 and end the year being ranked in the top 10 in the world. There are many fight videos of Dave online and you can also go to daveherman.net for the latest on what he's doing.
Sean also known as "the Spiderman" is a brazlian jiu jitsu black belt and has been training in MMA for over 10 years. Spider has competed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments around the world and finished 3rd place in the absolute black belt division of the pan american championships this year. He has a MMA record of 3-0 and at 38 years old still likes to put it on the line.