Jay White (mixed martial artist)

Jay White^[2] is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division. An eight-year professional competitor from 2002 until 2010, he competed for the WEC, Ring of Combat, HDNet Fights, Bellator, and XFC.

Accomplishments[]

• Katana Cagefighting Heavyweight Champion
• 2x Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medalist (Blue & Purple Belt)
• 2x NAGA Champion (Advanced Division)
• 5x Grappler’s Quest Champion (Advanced Division)
• NAGA 4-Man Superfight Champion
• 2002 Arnold Classic Pro No-Gi Semi-Finalist
• 2005 ADCC Veteran

Jay entered the world of martial arts at a young age. He experimented with various forms of self-defense such as: Kyokushin Kai Karate and Tae Kwon Do. However it wasn't until he was introduced to the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that he found his natural gifts and abilities for martial arts emerge.^{[citation needed]}

Jay started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2000 under the instruction of Nick Sanzo, Renzo Gracie Purple Belt. Nick owned and operated a Renzo association school in upstate NY. Within Jay's first week of training, he was already accompanying Nick to Renzo's NYC Academy in Manhattan to train with the best. Not knowing more than a few basic techniques Jay continued to train with some of the best grappling competitors in the sport. After only 3 months of training, Renzo promoted Jay to blue belt, which usually requires more than 2 years to earn. It was at this time that Jay's accomplishments were becoming more recognized in the sport. He began competing in events such as NAGA and Grappler's Quest. He quickly took first in his first-ever Grappling tournament, Grappler's Quest, competing in the intermediate division.

Renzo promoted Jay to Purple Belt in less than a year, becoming one of Renzo's fastest students to earn their Purple Belt. Jay went on to compete in many more tournaments including the Pan-American Games in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where he placed the first 2 years in a row as both a blue belt and a purple belt.

After only one year of training in the sport, Jay's accomplishments began to stack up. He is a 5X Grappler's Quest Champion, 2X North American Grappling Champion, and NAGA 4-man Superfight Champion.

In April 2001 Jay made his MMA debut in Kipp Kollar's Mass Destruction 7. He immediately fell in love with the sport and decided it was something he would like to pursue. In April 2005 Jay made the decision to pursue his dream of becoming an MMA World Champion and made the move from upstate Albany, New York to Portland, Oregon. It was here that he would be able to put his natural fighting abilities to the test, training with one of the prestigious MMA teams in the world, Team Quest, along with legends of the sport Randy "the Natural" Couture, Matt "the law" Lindland, and head coach Robert Follis. In July 2007 Jay was asked by UFC legend Randy Couture to come to Vegas and help him get ready for UFC 74 where Couture was set to face Gabriel Gonzaga. After that training camp, Jay loved the gym so much, and with the help of Randy's wife Kim, Jay made the move to Las Vegas where Jay is now making his mark in the MMA

Mixed martial arts record[]

References[]