When was the school established?
The Lion’s Den Scottsdale was established in early 2008 and opened its doors in June 2008.
Who started the school and why?
Scott Peters, former NFL player (NY Giants, Arizona Cardinals), and Jonas Ash invested in and started the Lion’s Den Scottsdale. Scott and Jonas wanted to create a training facility where active fighters and non-fighters who enjoy training could train alongside each other and receive the best instruction in the state of Arizona.
What styles of fighting do you teach?
The Lion’s Den Scottsdale (http://www.lionsdenaz.com/) offers training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (gi and no gi), Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling, and MMA. Training is provided by top trainers from around the world including Carlos “the professor” Farias and Marcos da Silva, Master Bob Karmel, Coach Mario “O” Francis, and Eric Larkin.
What types of classes are taught and when?
The Lion’s Den offers a full schedule of classes for both stand up training and ground training as well as bootcamps for females. For more information, please visit the Lion’s Den website at http://www.lionsdenaz.com/.
Talk about a couple of your current fighters?
The premiere fighters currently training at the Lion’s Den Scottsdale include Benny Madrid, Travis Scott, Sean Scott, Mitch Wheeler, Matt Howard, and Stephen Watson. Benny has been training in MMA for over 3 years and is a natural MMA fighter. He has trained under Edwin Dewees, Joe Riggs, and other well-known MMA veterans. Travis is a former NFL lineman that played for the Rams and the Giants. Travis recently made his MMA debut. Sean is a former collegiate wrestler whose forte is wrestling, grappling, and jiu jitsu but is also a competitive boxer. Sean and Mitch are both incredibly strong for their weight classes. Mitch and Stephen are well-rounded MMA fighters with strong backgrounds in wrestling and grappling. Matt Howard is a former wrestler and football player. All fighters have a bright future in MMA.
Is there an upcoming event that you have a fighter participating in? If so, what event?
All fighters at the Lion’s Den are actively fighting and either just recently fought or will be featured at upcoming events. Matt Howard, Benny Madrid, Travis Scott, Sean Scott, and Tim Gidley will be fighting in Tolleson, AZ on November 21st and Stephen Watson will be fighting in Deming, NM on November 7th.
Tell us about your training programs?
Training at the Lion’s Den Scottsdale is targeted at particular audiences. For example, the Lion’s Den hosts a large number of children that train in wrestling, grappling, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Boxing and muay thai classes are offered to the general public that are definitely interested in training while competitive training is offered to active fighters. Fitness bootcamps are offered to interested females.
What makes your school unique?
The Lion’s Den Scottsdale is unique because of the quality and size of the training facility as well as the quality of coaches and trainers. As mentioned above, the Lion’s Den offers training by world renowned coaches and trainers in every aspect. Due to the level of training provided, a person training to simply stay in shape may be training right next to professional world class fighters and athletes on some occasions.
Who can attend the courses you teach?
Some classes at the Lion’s Den, such as the children’s classes, target a particular age group and other classes, such as the professional MMA classes and competitive muay thai classes, target those with more advanced skill levels. However, the majority of classes offered at the Lion’s Den may be attended by anyone that is interested.
Anyone that deserves recognition from your school (staff, fighter, etc.)?
We’d like to congratulate Benny Madrid, Sean Scott, Travis Scott, Stephen Watson, Mitch Wheeler, Matt Howard, Nick Chasteen, Dave Adams, Tommy Hicks and the other fighters and competitors at the Lion’s Den for their recent performances and wish everyone good luck in the future. http://www.lionsdenaz.com/
