Grant Brothers MMA Celebrates Two Years of Success

Two years in the books and Grant Brothers Boxing & MMA Gym is going stronger than ever. One look around the gym Nov. 27 told you anything you needed to know about how far Grant Brothers has come. UFC contenders signed autographs, TV crews and reporters littered the floor and fans lined up out the door.

The reason: Grant Brothers celebrated its second birthday with a bash inviting students and fans to join in the fun Saturday. UFC veterans Thiago Alves and Grant Brothers’ own Sean Pierson signed autographs, posed for pictures and chatted up MMA lovers. Everyone in attendance enjoyed free food. GP8 Water and Rockstar Energy, the event’s sponsors, gave away lots of cool products. And fight fans on hand got to see Grant Brothers’ MMA expertise first hand via demos in Sambo, Judo, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing.

“It looks great,” said Alves, a UFC welterweight contender who made the trip to Toronto for the event. “It’s my first time here and they have everything a martial artist needs.”

Ryan “RG” Grant, one of the famous boxing Grant brothers and one of the gym’s co-owners, smiled ear to ear as he reflected on how much the school has grown in two years.

“I’m over-passionate doing this, trying to develop the guys, trying to be everywhere at once, and I think it’s starting to pay off,” Grant said. “I don’t want to sound clichéd – but I want to thank God, more than a little, that things are happening a lot faster than I expected.”

Grant added that his elation came more from seeing the gym grow in an athletic sense, not just a business sense. “The younger kids coming up in the gym are fighting and winning and leading up to the Sean Piersons and the UFC guys and the up-and-coming MMA fighters,” Grant said. “It’s amazing to see how, if you want something so badly, things will turn around as long as you work hard.”

No one embodies Grant’s philosophy like Pierson, the Canadian welterweight and Grant Brothers product who has made an impact in the UFC’s welterweight division. At the anniversary bash, he explained that he’s still the wrestling coach at the gym, though he admits his life has changed since he joined the world’s most elite MMA promotion.

“I’m a little bit more of a role model now that I’m in the UFC and trying to help guys mould themselves a little bit,” Pierson said. “I realize a lot of the guys here want to see me a bit more, like the younger kids. I go and help wherever I can, like in the pro classes. And I just see my role progressing further and further as time goes on here.”

What’s next for Grant Brothers at it begins year three? Will it produce a UFC champ someday? Grant is optimistic. He believes anything is possible.  He said Saturday that he never imagined his brother Otis would be a world champ, his brother Howard an Olympian, or that he’d became a successful coach and business owner  –  but they all fulfilled their dreams.

“When I started boxing with my brothers we just did it because we could kick some butt for free and not get in trouble for it,” Grant said with a sly smile. “But now that things are working (at Grant Brothers MMA), I would hope in the next 10 years that we can make a UFC champion. I’d love that. It would be a dream come true.”

Check Grant Brothersmma.com later this week for one-on-one Q&A sessions with Thiago Alves and Sean Pierson and our Gallery Section to view photos from the event.

About Grant Brothers Boxing & MMA GYM: Serving North York, Toronto and the GTA,  Grant Brothers Boxing & MMA Gym offers world-class Boxing, BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai, Sambo, Wrestling, MMA and UFC training at real-world prices.  Classes are taught by certified coaches with classes for men, women, children, adults, beginners and advanced.  Private lessons and boxercise classes are also available. Areas serviced include North York, Etobicoke, Toronto, Scarborough, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan, Brampton and Mississauga.

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