Master Rigan Machado is a living legend in the world of Brazilian Jiu jitsu, and is considered by many to be the greatest grappler to ever walk the face of the planet. He is the nephew of the legendary Grandmaster Carlos Gracie, and himself holds the prestigious red and white belt. He achieved his legendary stature at the world championship level by amassing a record that no one has been able to match since.

From the age of 14 through 21, he won the World Championships every year and in every belt division.

He amassed a record of 365 wins and very few losses in BJJ competition. He also created a record by having 19 matches in one day and finishing all of them by submission.

Master Rigan Machado remained unbeaten in more than 13 years of competition.

Troy was born and raised in Colorado. After being bullied as a young child, Troy started his martial arts journey in 1981.

Troy’s initial interest in learning self defense grew to a pursuit of excellence and black belts in multiple arts.

Troy has studied several and competed in varying martial arts for the last 44 years, including Kung fu, Iai-do, Kendo, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Judo and BJJ. Troy has been teaching Judo and Jiujitsu for over a decade.

Troy is currently the head professor of the adults and kids jiujitsu programs and Judo Sensei. Troy continues to teach martial arts in hopes of passing on to others the same benefits that have enriched his life.

Troy currently holds his first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu (awarded October 2019) under Master Rigan Machado, and is a certified second degree Judo Black Belt under the United States Judo Association and is a Renshi in the Iwayama Ryu school of Judo.

Coach Reese Garcia-Salazar

Coach Reese is a Greeley native and has been passionate about martial arts and combat sports since a very young age. He grew up in not the nicest of neighborhoods and was the youngest sibling which prompted him to realize knowing how to handle chaotic combative situations for the safety of his life was a must. As a child, Coach Reese was obsessed with martial arts, movies and sports but wasn’t able to join due to family finances; however, he was always challenging wrestlers or gathering kids from the local schools and neighborhoods for boxing matches. He studied techniques on his own and learned how to improve his skills. After high school, he started looking for mixed martial arts classes now that he had the means to do so. After trying a couple local gyms, he found a gym whose athletes were more knowledgeable and challenged him, Royce Gracie Jiujitsu. This was also where he met Troy Pettyjohn, the head judo instructor. He worked his way up the rankings to purple belt which he received from Royce Gracie. He also constantly challenged himself by entering jiujitsu tournaments, kickboxing, and MMA fights. He started a successful, undefeated amateur fighting career and was quickly invited to gyms and trained with some of the most well-known professional fighters in the UFC from Colorado. Reese was ranked number 1 Colorado amateur in two weight classes and eventually became a professional fighter. He received a win then, due to health reasons, had to step away. Reese now has a son who shares his obsession with MMA and thus spawned Reese’s passion for coaching and is currently the head coach at Greeley Central High School and is teaching No-Gi Jiujitsu at our academy. Come take a class! Reese will teach you how to apply no-gi jiujitsu into your current path and how it is used in MMA.