Chicago MMA

### Services

Mixed Martial Arts Training (Folkstyle/freestyle wrestling, No GI JuJitsu, Boxing, Judo, Brazilian JuJitsu, Sambo, Kickboxing, Muay Thai) | Professional Wrestling Training

### ponsored fightersS

Michael Bishop (OWA) , Viktor Bannon (Gamma Pro)

**Chicago Mixed Martial Arts** is a Mixed Martial Arts Gym and Fight Camp based in Chicago, Illinois. The fight camp allows for several membership packages, starting from simple facility use, to full fight training and team support for amateur and professional fighters. In recent years the gym has seen many Pro Wrestlers come in to seek training, however it still has multiple Mixed Martial Artists within it's walls

### Head Coaching Staff:

John Paylon (Head Coach / Boxing Technician): Chicago MMA's lead training of the gym, as well as the mastermind behind it's boxing program. John was one of the founding members of the gym, and has been the lead fight camp technician behind many of it's fighters.

*"We don't train athletes, we train fighters"*

*- John Paylon, 2014*

Hellen Smith (Strength and Conditioning Coach /Muay Thai Technician): Retired Female's Kickboxing and Muay Thai champion with an impressive career record of 71 - 3. She's a lead strength and conditioning coach with an associate's degree in physiology. Helping to develop fight camp endurance regimes, as well as helping to meld Muay Thai with many other martial arts.

### Facilities:

The Chicago MMA Academy: The founding structure of the fight camp. a three story building sprawling across an entire end of it's city block. With several sparring facilities accustomed to training all forms of martial arts, from striking, to grappling, to clinch fighting, while conditioning and other training is done in other facilities, the main core of a fighter's ability is sharpened here.

The Chicago MMA Performance Institute: A secondary structure, opened in January 2020, with the goal of providing a wide variety of exercise and fitness stations to not only the academy's students, but underprivileged families and citizens in Chicago. The PI allows for strength training at different machines, weight racks, and platforms, cardiovascular training at treadmills, stairmasters, and a building wide track, as well as a pool for swimming, a cross fit section, and a yoga/flexibility area.

## Fighters:

### Current Fighters:

(Fighters who are actively with the camp, training, and preparing for fights under the Chicago MMA brand):

Michael Bishop: "The Revenant", "The Dreadknight", Michael Bishop is currently the longest running fighter, aside from Hellen, with the program, and the oldest fighter on it's active roster. With his MMA Career caping off, currently, at 56 - 6, 3 Heavyweight Championships, and over 4,000,000+ In PPV Buys, his current return to pro wrestling promises even more blood sports. Bishop has attributed a large part of his success and skill to Chicago MMA, most importantly, his fight team coach, John Paylon.

Viktor Bannon: "Archangel", A Lithuanian-Russian bare knuckle fighter, turned professional boxer, now turned Professional Wrestler, signed with Gamma Pro. While only being 27, Bannon doesn't have any professional titles to his name, being attributed to a poor living situation in eastern europe. Recruited by John Paylon, he's training for his stint into pro wrestling, and hopes that with Chicago MMA, he can finally obtain gold, to help his family, and his community back home.

Simo "Klaine" Galkin: "Klaine", currently a fighter undefeated in MMA, is the current welterweight champion of the european white collar promotion, 'Ryse Pro'. Currently 36 - 0, with 20 Knock Outs, and 10 Submissions to his name, he is the most dangerous professional fighter aside from Michael Bishop and Viktor Bannon. While his debut on the developmental brand in OWT has been delayed, he continues to fight in one off fights on the amatuer MMA scene. He has yet to be defeated.

### Former Fighters:

(Fighters who are no longer with the camp, but have trained with them in the past)

Farrah Layne: "Fatality", two time women's flyweight champion, OWT prospect, and current inaugural GFC Women's Flyweight Champion. Having trained under Michael Bishop in the past, Layne has since joined US Top Team. Both Bishop and Paylon has commented on Farrah's expertise, and Bishop himself says she will be a champion in whatever combat sport she decides to head to next.

## Accolades:

### Gym Awards:

* 2018 Fox Sport's "Fight Camp of the Year"
* 5x Fight Camp of the Event Awards
* 2019, 2020 "Best Gym in the Midwest" award

### Fighter Awards/Accolades:

**MMA:**

* 3x UCD Heavyweight Championship [Michael Bishop]
* 2x CF Featherweight Championship [Hellen Smith]
* 1x (Current) Ryse Pro Welterweight Championship [Simo Klaine]
* 5x Golden Grove European Boxing tournament champ [Viktor Bannon]
* 3x Kursk Kickboxing Tournament winner [Viktor Bannon]

**Pro Wrestling:**

* 1x New Breed Championship [Michael Bishop]