MMA Gym Near Me in Mar Vista: Uprise MMA on Venice Boulevard

Uprise MMA charges $199 a month for unlimited classes in every style it teaches, with every membership month to month and a free first week for new students. The academy is at 12320 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, in the Mar Vista stretch of the boulevard, and it runs MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling and strength classes from a 7am session to the last 8pm slot on weekdays. Its tagline is that you don't have to be a fighter to train like one. If you are searching mma gym near me on the Westside, this is a straightforward place to start.

The gym began in 2008 as Way of the Warrior Training, with the stated goal of high-quality instruction in a fun and safe environment where every student gets hands-on coaching. It later took the Uprise MMA name and kept the same owner and head instructor, Pete Panos, whose own strength and conditioning system is the basis of the gym's fitness class.

The staff list is long for a neighborhood academy. Professor Gustavo Gasperin is head jiu-jitsu instructor and the black belt behind the intermediate BJJ classes. Kyle Calkins, Byron Valle and Ken Oh are listed as MMA instructors, Andre Cabrera teaches wrestling, Jo Doyle leads women's jiu-jitsu, and a bench of Muay Thai coaches including Eric Yung, Rich Hacking and Michael Ali covers the striking side. A separate team of coaches runs the youth program.

The class description is simple: MMA combines striking and grappling, and through pad work, drills and sparring you learn to use your jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai together, whether to defend yourself or to compete. That is why the gym sells an all-styles membership; most people who stay take beginner BJJ and beginner Muay Thai alongside MMA.

On the gym's Glofox schedule for the week of October 19, 2026, the general MMA class is listed on Monday at 5pm as a beginner session, Tuesday and Thursday at 11am, Wednesday at 8pm and Saturday at 1pm, each an hour long. Monday at 8pm is the MMA Fight Team, an advanced, invitation-only group that trains alongside seasoned professionals in striking, grappling and fight strategy.

Beginners in the other rooms are well served. Muay Thai beginners work basic strikes with hands, feet, knees and elbows plus simple defense; intermediate Muay Thai adds heavy pad work and sparring. Beginner BJJ drills guard passes, sweeps, takedowns and controlling positions, and the schedule also shows separate gi and no-gi sessions, morning rolls and a Saturday women's class.

Every plan runs month to month. The unlimited one-style membership is $179 a month and includes gym access during open hours; unlimited all styles is $199. Uprise Youth, for ages 4 to 7 and 8 to 13, is $149 a month, and a gym-only plan with the weight room, bag areas and strength equipment but no classes is $99. Private lessons are priced on request, with special packages available.

The trial is a full free week, which is long enough to try the beginner MMA class, a BJJ fundamentals session and a Muay Thai class before deciding which plan fits.

The FAQ lays out seven rules. Arrive on time, because late arrivals disrupt the session. Keep yourself and your gear clean, trim your nails and wash training clothes after every session. Respect instructors, partners and staff. Practice control and avoid excessive force when sparring, and talk to your partner about pace. Wipe down mats and equipment after use and don't walk around barefoot off the mats. Stay home with a cold, skin infection or open wound until you have healed. Wear a clean gi or rash guard and shorts, and remove all jewelry.

For a first class, bring comfortable workout clothes, a towel and any gear you own. If you have none, the gym lends loaner equipment during the trial.

The gym's pitch is that age, experience and gender do not matter, and the room reflects it. One student quoted on the homepage says Uprise is a great place whether you want general fitness or are an aspiring amateur fighter, and that after almost two years of training they still look forward to coming in every day.

The Strength and Conditioning class, built on Panos's own exercise system, is the gateway for people who are not ready to be hit yet: core-focused work for strength, endurance and explosiveness, combined with martial arts movement. Monday's 7pm slot runs it alongside the jiu-jitsu rolls, so a partner can lift while you spar.

Families are a big part of the schedule. The youth program teaches self-defense through MMA basics with conditioning drills, and the October calendar lists kids MMA basics on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings at 9am and 10am. Outside the gym, the community talks on its own Discord server and posts on Instagram and TikTok under @uprisemma.

Saturday's 1pm MMA class pairs neatly with a Westside weekend, and Sunday mornings belong to the Mar Vista Farmers Market a few blocks east at Grand View Boulevard and Venice Boulevard. It runs every Sunday from 9am to 2pm, rain or shine except major holidays, with California farmers selling fruit, nuts, mushrooms, grass-fed meat and cheese, plus wild local seafood, fresh-squeezed juice and plenty of prepared food under dining tents.

It is a good place to refuel after the Sunday 10am fundamentals jiu-jitsu class, and an easy way to see the neighborhood the gym draws from: families, Westside commuters and longtime regulars.

Uprise MMA, 12320 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066 (Mar Vista). Memberships month to month: $179 one style, $199 all styles, $149 youth, $99 gym only; privates on request. Free first week for new students, loaner gear available. MMA classes on the October 2026 schedule: Monday 5pm beginner, Tuesday and Thursday 11am, Wednesday 8pm, Saturday 1pm; Fight Team Monday 8pm by invitation. Classes are booked through the Glofox portal linked from the website.