MMA Gym Near Me in Hialeah: MMA Masters and Its 30-Foot Octagon

MMA Masters fills a 30,000-square-foot air-conditioned building at 6440 W 20th Ave in Hialeah, with more than 10,000 square feet of mats, a 30-foot octagon cage, men's and women's showers and free parking out front. Founders Daniel Valverde and Cesar Carneiro are both listed as pro trainers, and the 2026 adult timetable runs from 8:30am wrestling to 9pm boxing, Monday to Saturday. For anyone in north-west Miami-Dade searching mma gym near me, it is one of the few places where a beginner class and a pro session share the same cage.

The scale is the first thing regulars mention. The gym's own spec sheet lists heavy bags, Muay Thai bags, speed and double-end bags, a plyometric area, a pro shop and a separate weightlifting area that costs extra. The 30-foot octagon is a regulation-size cage, so fighters can rehearse cage walking and wall work in the same space they will compete in.

Hours are Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 9pm, Friday 9:30am to 8pm and Saturday 9:30am to 1:30pm. It is closed on Sundays, so the Saturday morning block is the only weekend window, and it ends at 1:30pm sharp.

The team page lists Daniel Valverde and Cesar Carneiro as founders and pro trainers. Carneiro also leads the MMA Pro sessions, with Frank Carrillo and Danny Chavez coaching the regular MMA classes. Chavez is a working fighter, and the gym's video page carries fight-week pieces on him and on Michael Pino alongside training footage with Colby Covington.

Behind them is a deep bench for the separate disciplines: Richard Mayol for wrestling and kids' no-gi, Joseph Watson for wrestling, Gabriella Fernandez for Muay Thai, Edwin Sarria for kids, Jefferson Nuñez for capoeira, and Lola Cuberli for women's MMA. Reviews on the homepage, half of them in Spanish, single out the Muay Thai coaching and the attention coaches give to newer students.

There are three adult MMA tracks. Regular MMA runs on Monday at 7pm, Wednesday at 6pm and Friday at 5pm, an hour each, and it is where a newcomer belongs. Pro MMA meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30am and Friday from 11am, built for active fighters who train in the daytime. Women's MMA, coached by Lola Cuberli, runs on Thursday from 7pm to 8pm.

Our honest take: do not walk into a weekday Pro MMA session as your first class just because it suits your schedule. Start on the Monday or Wednesday evening class, and fill the other nights with the wrestling, boxing and no-gi classes that feed into MMA anyway. Kids MMA and judo have their own timetable.

Because the gym teaches every component separately, a full MMA week is easy to assemble. Wrestling starts as early as 8:30am and returns at 8pm on two evenings, boxing closes out several nights at 8pm, no-gi jiu-jitsu fills the 7pm slot most nights, and gi classes run at 5pm and 6pm. Pair two MMA nights with one wrestling and one no-gi class and you have covered every range of the fight.

An open mat runs every weekday from 4pm to 5pm. It is the cheapest way to get extra rounds: arrive with a partner, pick a corner of the 10,000 square feet, and drill what you missed in class. The women's program adds a 6:30pm cardio boxing class twice a week and a dedicated women's BJJ class at 7pm.

MMA Masters does not post membership prices online, and pricing is explained at the visit. The gym advertises one-to-one training as the quickest route to results, so ask about a private lesson if you want to catch up before joining group sessions.

The only prices on the website are in the shop. The house-brand boxing gloves cost $39.99 and the black slides $29.99, which is useful if you arrive without gear; you will need gloves, shin guards and a mouthguard once striking drills start. Bring your own water, and plan to shower on site after evening classes.

The homepage reviews give a sense of the mix: teenagers and children in the after-school blocks, Spanish-speaking adults who came for Muay Thai and stayed for the cage work, and pros who use the morning sessions. One long review credits the coaches with making beginners feel welcome from day one while still pushing hard.

The unspoken rule in fight gyms like this one applies here too: in sparring, match the intensity of your partner rather than trying to win the round, especially in a mixed room. Tell the coach if it is your first time in the cage; the wall changes how takedowns and get-ups feel.

Most members drive, and parking is free at the building, so there is no meter to feed during a long evening of back-to-back classes. If the 9pm finish suits you, evenings are the busiest time, so arrive ten minutes early to change before the 7pm MMA or no-gi block.

If you need to train on a Sunday or after 9pm, MMA Masters will not work. Freestyle Fighting Academy at 1423 SW 107th Ave, across from FIU, is open 24 hours a day and runs classes until 1:45am, though its first visit has to be booked.

On a weekday afternoon, Amelia Earhart Park, the county's 515-acre park with five lakes, makes a good recovery stop. Parking there is free Monday to Thursday and $8 from Friday to Sunday and on holidays, and its 5.5 miles of woodland mountain-bike trails are free from sunrise to sunset.

The park also hosts a cable wakeboarding center on its 90-acre lake and a farm village built for children, which works if you train in the morning and have kids with you in the afternoon.

MMA Masters, 6440 W 20 Ave, Hialeah, FL 33016. Open Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 9pm, Friday 9:30am to 8pm, Saturday 9:30am to 1:30pm, closed Sunday. Adult MMA Monday 7pm, Wednesday 6pm, Friday 5pm; Pro MMA Tuesday and Thursday 10:30am, Friday 11am; women's MMA Thursday 7pm. Free parking, showers and lockers. Membership prices given at the tour.