Best Training Camp in MMA? Black House Rising!

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on June 06, 2009

When we think of dominant gyms in MMA (both past and present), several come to mind:

Jackson's Submission Fighting
Miletich Fighting Systems
Team Quest
American Top Team
Brazilian Top Team
The Gracie Family
The Lion's Den
Team Punishment
Chute Boxe Academy
Wolfslair MMA Academy
The Pit
Red Devil Sport Club
Xtreme Couture

I may have missed a few. All of these I’d heard of and knew of. But has anyone else ever heard of The Black House?

“Black House (Casa Preta) is a mixed martial arts fighting team and gym based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Opened on November 27, 2006, Black House was started by former Brazilian Top Team member and black belt Carlos Barreto, Jorge Guimaraes and Rogerio Camoes. Guimaraes acted as the team's manager and Camoes was in charge of the team’s training.

Fighters on the team include Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former Chute Boxe Academy fighter Antonio "Nino" Schembri. In addition to training fighters, the gym offered classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing and American Wrestling. The facility featured an octagon, a boxing ring and two dojos in the workout space.”



This team has effectively stormed onto the MMA scene. They are a relatively new camp, founded in 2006 obviously. Yet they have a star-studded lineup of first-rate fighters. These fighters include:

* Anderson Silva 24-4 (Current UFC Middleweight Champion)
* Lyoto Machida 15-0 (Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
* Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira 31-5-1 (Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion)
* Antônio Rogério Nogueira 17-3
* Carlos Barreto 14-9
* Rafael Feijao 7-1
* Paulo Filho 17-1 (Former WEC Middleweight Champion)
* Nino 'Elvis' Schembri 5-5
* Junior dos Santos 8-1
* Andre Galvao 3-0
* Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza 10-2

So the Black House has two current UFC champions: Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. They have the Nogueira twins—with Big Nog as former UFC Interim champion and an MMA legend. They have Paulo Filho, the former WEC Middleweight champion. Their camp has a combined record of 151-31.

With the Nogueiras’ mastery of Brazilian Jui-Jitzu, and the striking credentials of Machida and Anderson Silva, this may be the uncrowned most powerful gym in all of MMA! Can anyone think of a better one?

Some people are clamoring for a fight between Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. The trouble is, both men are Black House fighters. They are team-mates, and it is unlikely that they will fight. The motivation to do so is not significant either.

Both have a championship belt of their own after-all.

The team is going to be relocating—probably to the United States—and quite likely will be renamed.

Whether the name changes or remains the same, I can’t think of any camp with better credentials to claim “best MMA team in the world” at this point in time. The truly amazing thing is that so many people have never heard of the Black House. If I was an up and coming MMA fighter, this would definitely be my first choice of Training Camps.