UFC veteran and BJJ Black Belt Din Thomas joins the show to talk about his long MMA career, the never ending pursuit of perfect Jiu-Jitsu and his current role as a coach of some of modern MMA’s elite fighters at American Top Team! Click “Read More” for show notes!

SHOW NOTES:

• Fighters he is currently prepping for fights

• His life before Martial Arts / Why team sports weren’t for him

• Getting bullied as a kid

• The rapid evolution of fighting in the last 15 years

• Technology’s role in the evolution of Martial Arts

• How a brush with the law changed his life’s path to become a martial artist

• His early MMA career

• The never ending pursuit of perfect Jiu-Jitsu

• His interest in learning self defense / Sparring for haircuts

• Jiu-Jitsu being the great equalizer for smaller people

• “Getting Lucky” in striking VS “Getting Lucky” in Grappling

• A reason why many people quit Jiu-Jitsu

• How the appeal of knockouts among fans has changed the structure of MMA

• The importance of a well rounded game

• Jiu-Jitsu’s effectiveness in no time limit situations

• Learning from Master Ricardo Liborio

• His decision to pursue MMA as a career

• Shootfighting in the 90’s

• His quick transition from smaller shows to the UFC

• His UFC debut against BJ Penn

• The mental preparation of fighting

• His defining career moment

• The decision to retire

• Becoming a stand up and improv comedian

• Coaching the new generation of fighters

• Future plans