Kill Cliff FC, officially known as Kill Cliff Fight Club (formerly known as Sanford MMA, Hard Knocks 365, and Combat Club) is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

gym based in

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...

. It was originally founded in 2017 by

Henri Hooft Henri Hooft, also known as Harry Hooft (born May 21, 1969), is a Dutch former kickboxer and trainer. He is the head trainer at Kill Cliff FC and formerly the Blackzilians. Career Hooft was born and raised in The Hague, Netherlands. At the age ...

and Greg Jones as Combat Club and later Hard Knocks 365 before being rebranded to Sanford MMA in 2019 after obtaining a sponsorship deal with

Sanford Health Sanford Health is a nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. History Sanford Health has its roots in ...

. In July 2022, the gym rebranded to Kill Cliff FC.

Overview

In 2017,

left the

Blackzilians The Blackzilians was a professional team of fighters in mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling located in South Florida. The team had included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Eddie Alvarez ...

and alongside Greg Jones, founded the gym, Combat Club in

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...

. This was later rebranded as Hard Knocks 365 after moving the gym to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

to accommodate a bigger facility. Some of the fighters who were originally training at the Blackzilians would join the new gym. In 2019, Hard Knocks 365 rebranded to Sanford MMA after obtaining a sponsorship deal with

. A new training facility was opened in

as part of the deal and Sanford Health also opened a supporting clinic adjacent to the team training facility. In July 2022, the gym rebranded to Kill Cliff FC after Kill Cliff, an energy drink and CBD company acquired naming the rights to the gym. The team includes roughly 40 fighters, 25 of whom fight within the largest three MMA promotions (UFC, Bellator and ONE), as well as former and current world champions. Kill Cliff FC is notable for producing former

UFC Welterweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler, and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

. However, after being scheduled to fight Kill Cliff FC teammate

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of th ...

UFC 258 ''UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 13, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

, Usman left the gym in June 2020 to join

Trevor Wittman Trevor Wittman (born March 5, 1974) is an American boxing and mixed martial arts coach. He is the founder of ONX Sports, a combat sports equipment company based in Golden, Colorado. Training career Compelled to retire from boxing at 21 years old ...

at ONX Sports in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. In 2022, Usman returned to Kill Cliff FC to prepare for his title defense against

Leon Edwards Leon Edwards (born 25 August 1991) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Welterweight Champion. A professional ...

UFC 278 ''UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. Usman subsequently lost his championship.

Notable fighters

Mixed martial artists

UFC

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler Jr. (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Chandler previously competed for Bellator MMA from 2010 ...

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist who is currently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and Karate Combat. He formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

Derek Brunson Derek T. Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for his 21 fight tenure in the Ultimate Fightin ...

Volkan Oezdemir Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Oezdemir ...

Vicente Luque Vicente Catta Preta Luque (born November 27, 1991) is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist of Chilean and Brazilian descent. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). B ...

* Michael Johnson *

Stefan Struve Stefan Struve (; born February 18, 1988) is a Dutch former mixed martial artist who competed as a heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Standing at tall, he is the tallest fighter in the history of the UFC. Background Growing ...

André Fialho André Fialho Mensurado (born April 7, 1994) is a Portuguese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He is the former UAE Warriors champion and has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PFL, Bellat ...

Takashi Sato is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2013, he is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, S ...

Randy Costa Randy Costa (born July 6, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. A professional since 2018, he most notably fought in the Ultimate Fighting ...

Shavkat Rakhmonov Shavkat Bakhtibaevich Rakhmonov (, ; born October 23, 1994) is a Kazakh professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Rakhmonov is al ...

Li Jingliang Li Jingliang ( Chinese: 李景亮; pinyin: Lǐ Jǐngliàng; born March 20, 1988) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Originally from a small town near Tac ...

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (born May 4, 1994 ) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Sayran comes from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, which is located in n ...

Ian Garry Ian David Machado Garry (; born 17 November 1997) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Prior to signing with the UFC, Garry was a Cage W ...

Rafael Fiziev Rafael Fiziev (born March 5, 1993) is an Azerbaijani professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 1, 2025, he is #11 in the UFC ...

Reinier de Ridder Reinier de Ridder (born September 7, 1990), also known by his initials RDR, is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in O ...

Bellator MMA

Jason Jackson Jason Jackson may refer to: * Jason Jackson (reporter) (born 1972), American sportscaster * Jason Jackson (fighter) (born 1990), Jamaican mixed martial artist * Jason Jackson (baseball), American college baseball coach * Jason Baird Jackson ...

Logan Storley Logan Storley (born September 8, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist and folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is a former interim Bellator Welt ...

Linton Vassell Linton Vassell (born 3 June 1983) is an English mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the PFL. A professional since 2008, he has also competed for UCMMA and Cage Warriors. He is the former UCMMA Light Heav ...

Ádám Borics Ádám Borics (born July 7, 1993) is a Hungarian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. He previously competed for Bellator MMA. Early life ...

ONE

Aung La Nsang Aung La Maung Nsang (; born on May 21, 1985) is an American-Burmese mixed martial artist of Kachin people, Kachin descent. He is currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in both the Middleweight (MMA), middleweight and Light heavy ...

Martin Nguyen Martin Nguyen (born 5 March 1989) is an Australian former mixed martial artist, who competed in the featherweight division. A professional from 2012 till 2025. Nguyen is most notable for his stint in ONE Championship, where he was the former ONE ...

Brandon Vera Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino and American retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweight Grand Prix Champ ...

PFL

Marina Mokhnatkina Marina Yuryevna Mokhnatkina (; née Kormiltseva, born 12 May 1988) is a sambo competitor and mixed martial artist. Mokhnatkina is a six-time world champion and two-time European champion in sambo. She is also an eight-time Russian champion in sam ...

Impa Kasanganay Impa Armand Kasanganay (born January 17, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He formerly competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions ...

KSW

Viktor Pešta Viktor Pešta (; born July 15, 1990) is a Czech Republic, Czech mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He is currently ranked #6 in the Konfrontacja ...

Kickboxers

Tyrone Spong Tyrone Clinton Spong (born 3 September 1985) is a Surinamese-Dutch professional boxer and mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. As a boxer, he held the WBC and WBO Latino heavyweight titles in 2018. In kickboxing, he is the former WFCA c ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{MMA Team List Mixed martial arts training facilities Deerfield Beach, Florida 2017 establishments in Florida