"Most people will never train at a UFC fighter-owned academy. You can. First 30 days free."

This letter is for every adult in Southern Maryland who has ever thought about training Mixed Martial Arts — for any reason at all.

Maybe you have never trained a day in your life. Never thrown a punch. Never stepped on a mat. Never even watched a fight. You just have a feeling that this is something you should be doing and you have never found the right place to start.

Maybe you are a stay at home mom who wants to feel stronger, safer, and like you are doing something completely for yourself for the first time in a long time.

Maybe you are someone who has not done anything physical in fifteen or twenty years and the idea of starting from scratch feels equal parts exciting and terrifying.

Maybe you want to compete. Local level. Regional level. As high as your effort and commitment will take you. And you need an environment that can actually get you there.

Maybe you just want the best hour of your day. A place where you put the phone down, get on the mat, sweat harder than you ever do at a conventional gym, and walk out feeling like a completely different version of yourself.

It does not matter which of those descriptions sounds like you. What matters is that you are reading this. And that means something in you is ready.

This academy was built for every single one of those people. The complete beginner and the seasoned competitor. One gym. One standard. Every adult welcome. And your first 30 days are completely free.

First — what this is not

Because I already know what some of you are picturing

When many people hear the words Mixed Martial Arts they picture one thing. Violence. They picture their child getting hurt. They picture an aggressive environment.

So let me be completely direct about what actually happens when a normal adult walks through the doors of this academy for the first time.

• You are not going to get thrown in a cage.
• You are not going to get a black eye on your first day.
• You are not going to be expected to fight anyone.
• Nobody is going to look at you like you do not belong there.

What is actually going to happen is this. You are going to be welcomed. You are going to meet real people — beginners and experienced students — who are all there for the same fundamental reason. To get better. At something that matters.

What Mixed Martial Arts actually is

For the person who has never trained — and for the person who has

Mixed Martial Arts is exactly what the name says. It takes the most effective techniques from the most proven fighting systems ever developed — boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — and combines them into one complete, unified program.

• You learn how to strike correctly — with your full body behind it, in a way that is both effective and completely safe to train.
• You learn how to control your body and another person's body in space. Footwork. Balance. Leverage.
• You learn how to handle situations on the ground. How to get up when you are taken down. How to stay calm when you are in a bad spot.
• You learn how to defend yourself. Not in theory. In your body. Through repetition. Until it becomes instinct.

Boxing — The Foundation of Everything That Happens on Your Feet

Not fitness boxing. Real fundamentals — the jab, the cross, the hook, the uppercut — all built on the platform of footwork, distance management, and head movement. Sodiq's entire striking game at the UFC level is built around his boxing foundation. MMA analysts have called him the cleaner technical striker in every fight he has been in.

You will learn how to hit correctly. How to generate real power from your legs and hips. How to move your head so you are not where the punch is going. How to read and time a counter.

Wrestling and Takedowns — How to Control Any Situation

Wrestling is the foundation of physical control. Sodiq's wrestling background goes all the way back to Bladensburg High School. His 70 percent takedown defense at the UFC level is the direct result of fundamentals drilled over years.

You will learn how to shoot, how to defend, how to use the clinch, and how to use your hips and leverage — not just your strength — to control another person's body.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Ground Control — How to Stay Calm When Everything Goes Wrong

Sodiq holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Master Lloyd Irvin — UFC Hall of Fame coach. He used his jiu-jitsu to submit a UFC opponent in 30 seconds with a guillotine choke. He held Andre Fili on the ground for over four minutes in a UFC fight.

You will learn how to move on the ground. How to escape bad positions. How to submit and how to avoid being submitted. And you will develop calmness under pressure that transfers into every stressful situation outside the gym.

Kickboxing and Muay Thai — How to Use Your Whole Body as a Weapon

Sodiq's leg kicks are one of his most recognized weapons at the UFC level. He used them to systematically dismantle Alex Cáceres across three rounds. You will learn how to throw kicks with your hip behind them, how to set them up off your boxing combinations, how to use the Thai clinch, and the Yoza Kick — a technique Sodiq introduced to UFC audiences.

Real Self-Defense — What Happens When You Actually Need It

If someone grabs you — you will know what to do. If someone swings at you — you will not freeze. If a situation goes to the ground — you will not panic. The skills built in this program are drilled into your nervous system through repetition until they are automatic.