BJJ in Maricopa

Maricopa, the fast-growing city south of Phoenix proper, is served by Four Star MMA, where head coach Ham is a BJJ black belt under Matt Thornton of Straight Blast Gym (SBG) with professional fight experience in LFA and Bellator. SBG is one of the more distinctive lineages in American BJJ — Thornton's "aliveness" training methodology is central to the SBG approach. A second black belt, Blake Young, also coaches at Four Star. The gym covers BJJ, MMA, and wrestling; it is the primary BJJ option for Maricopa residents before the 45-minute drive to central Phoenix.