Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Take one step inside the brand-new, 38,000-square-foot UFC® GYM™ in Concord, Calif. and you’ll quickly learn that this is no ordinary fitness facility. As music pumps through the gym, an enthusiastic teenager swings heavy ropes, visions of Randy Couture dancing in his head. In another corner of the sprawling exercise center, a forty-something businessman channels his inner-Machida during karate class. And inside the UFC Gym’s renowned Octagon™, a mother of three fresh off the treadmill eagerly kicks Thai pads held by a dedicated instructor.
This is a normal day inside the state-of-the-art UFC Gym, which opened its doors to much fanfare last month in Concord. The gym, the first of many planned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship® in alliance with New Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC), is revolutionizing the exercise world by combining mixed martial arts and fitness.
With cutting-edge training techniques including MMA programming such as Muay Thai kickboxing, jiu jitsu, and self-defense classes, as well as one-of-a-kind offerings such as UFC Kid’s Gym Fitness, Octagon Training Disciplines, and High-Octane Conditioning, UFC gyms are allowing fitness seekers to train like their favorite UFC stars. In turn, UFC Gyms are motivating consumers and encouraging them to tackle fitness in a whole new way.
“UFC Gyms will raise the bar of what’s expected from a fitness center,” UFC President Dana White said. “We shook up the sports industry with the UFC and we plan to do the same to the fitness industry with UFC Gyms. Our gyms are more than just treadmills and free weights. We want people to step foot inside a UFC Gym and be a part of an awesome experience.”
“We share a passion to make UFC Gyms one of the most successful brands in the fitness industry,” NEFC founder Mark Mastrov, who oversees UFC Gyms with NEFC CEO/co-founder Jim Rowley, said. “With our innovative approach to fitness, we plan to create an atmosphere in which our members see immediate results. What’s more, they can do so in a facility that is second-to-none.”
That experience is already underway in Concord. With plans for an official grand opening of the first UFC Gym forthcoming, as well as designs to build UFC Gyms globally, White believes the first major brand extension of the Ultimate Fighting Championship is poised for major success worldwide. By invigorating the fitness industry with the raging success of the UFC, White is confident that UFC Gyms will build a strong following and become the ultimate fitness destination.
“The opening of the UFC Gym in Concord marks the beginning of a new era in fitness,” White said, adding that UFC Gyms featuring BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre are planned in the fighter’s native cities of Hawaii and Montreal, respectively. “We’ve teamed with NEFC owners Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley to create a brand that will get people excited about working out again. This is going to shape up the way we all approach fitness.”
For more information on UFC Gyms, please visit UFCgyms.com. For current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com, UFCJapan.jp or UFCEspanol.com.
