MMA Gym Near Me in Westchester: Ground Game Theory's Two Weekly Sessions

Ground Game Theory runs just two MMA classes a week, Friday at 6pm and Sunday at noon, and builds them on top of a no-gi jiu-jitsu program that trains seven days a week. The academy is upstairs at 9766 SW 24th St, Unit 12, Miami, FL 33165, on Coral Way near SW 97th Avenue on the Westchester and University Park border, about five minutes from FIU. Membership is $200 per four weeks with no sign-up fee, and local residents get a free one-day trial. If you are searching mma gym near me in west Miami-Dade and want MMA without the meathead culture, start here.

Ground Game Theory opened on Nov. 15, 2022 and now lists 28 weekly classes and more than 100 students. Its co-founders and head instructors are Carlmichael Leiva, a jiu-jitsu black belt under Greg Souders of Standard Jiu Jitsu who comes to coaching with a research background, and Keanoush Amirizadeh, a black belt with more than ten years of training known for leg locks, a hard-to-pass guard and heavy passing pressure.

What sets the room apart is how it teaches. Instead of memorizing long technique sequences, coaches use a constraints-led approach: live games with clear goals and rules, played against a resisting partner, so students learn to recognize openings and make decisions under pressure. The about page says the gym rejects the one-right-way approach and wants adaptable martial artists, with substance over theater and progress over ego.

MMA sessions are 60 minutes and combine striking, wrestling and submission grappling through live drills and controlled sparring. They are open to adults and teens with no previous martial arts experience, and the gym says plainly that you do not need to be a competitive fighter. People come for fitness, self-defense or simply to learn something new.

The MMA instructor is Alex Calienes, who has more than 15 years of training and competition, a black belt in Goju Ryu karate, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and an undefeated 2-0 amateur MMA record. His coaching leans on concepts and practical application rather than rote memorization, which fits the rest of the gym.

Safety is the stated priority: training is realistic, but never reckless. The house rules ban slamming, spiking, flying submissions, jumping guard during sparring and flying scissor takedowns, and joint locks must be controlled, not cranked. Tap early, and put your partner ahead of winning a round. A fitted mouthguard is recommended for contact training. CBS News Miami filmed a behind-the-scenes segment on the classes during UFC fight week.

There are no contracts, sign-up fees or annual dues. Four-week memberships are $200, billed every four weeks. The half-year plan is $1,209 every six months, which the gym shows as $186 per four weeks, and the annual plan is $2,288, or $176 per four weeks. Every adult plan covers unlimited no-gi jiu-jitsu and MMA, and you can pause or cancel anytime. Kids memberships, for ages 4 to 12, are priced separately.

Visitors from out of town buy a $30 day pass, which covers any class on the schedule that day, while the free one-day trial is reserved for Miami-area residents and needs no credit card. Weekend community open mats are free and welcome grapplers from other academies.

Book online and complete the waiver, then arrive a few minutes early to meet the coach. Wear a rashguard or close-fitting athletic shirt with shorts that have no pockets or zippers. There is no gi here, ever. Bring water and sandals for walking off the mats. On-site parking is available, and the entrance is upstairs, through the first door on the right.

Most jiu-jitsu newcomers start in the 6pm Foundations class, which runs Monday to Thursday and is coached by purple belt Daimyo Alonso, an accountant by day. Adult classes last an hour with about 40 minutes of live training, usually followed by an optional 30-minute open mat. The mats are vacuumed and mopped three times a day, and anyone with a suspected skin infection is asked to stay off them.

Jiu-jitsu runs every day of the week, with early-morning and lunchtime sessions on weekdays for people training around work, and a 7pm Advanced class for students with at least a year and a half on the mat. Experienced grapplers and competitors mix into the all-levels classes, the Advanced sessions and the open mats.

The kids program has its own staff. Grey Marin, a brown belt, spent more than seven years as an elementary school teacher before coaching youth jiu-jitsu, and John Kaufman, who started Taekwondo at age five, teaches both kids and adults. Classes for ages 4 to 6 and 7 to 12 sit in the late afternoon, so a parent can drop a child at 5pm and step into the adult hour at 6pm.

The gym's hours are Monday to Thursday 6:30am to 8pm, Friday noon to 7pm, Saturday 10am to 1pm and Sunday 10:30am to 1pm, so a Sunday MMA class finishes in time for lunch along Coral Way. For a longer outing, Tropical Park, a county park developed in 1979 on the site of a former horse track, draws about 1.5 million visitors a year to its paved paths, fitness court and boxing center, and is home to the Ronald Reagan Equestrian Center.

FIU's main campus is the gym's other neighbor, and a good share of students come from Westchester, Kendall, Sweetwater and Doral. Many families train on the same evening, with the kids class followed by the adult session.

Ground Game Theory, 9766 SW 24th St, Unit 12 (upstairs), Miami, FL 33165. MMA Friday 6pm and Sunday 12pm, 60 minutes, all levels. Adult memberships $200 per 4 weeks, $1,209 per half-year, $2,288 per year. Day pass $30, plus a free one-day trial for local residents. On-site parking. Free weekend no-gi open mats. Spanish-language pages are available on the website.