Attention Rhode Islanders interested in Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai Kickboxing:
Our Mixed Martial Arts programs are built on the fundamentals martial arts disciplines of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing. The programs themselves are designed to be a fit for everyone – as you’ll see as you keep reading (and get to see live in-class footage from our Bonus videos and FREE M.M.A. DVD
(If you’re 30 or over and want to know why our MMA Program is for Everyone, no matter their skill or fitness level – Click Here!)
Some people need a motivating and exciting team environment for fitness – where they still get individualized attention from an instructor. Other Rhode Islanders come to us because they want to learn effective self-defense techniques and feel the confidence that comes along with it. We have some students (and instructors) who become high level competitors – and other students who want a healthy place to blow off steam. No matter your Age, no matter your Fitness Level, we have a program that will suit you – and we’ll even give you the first month free because we’re so confident in what we offer!
Well, here’s a few facts that most people simply don’t know (this section should be called “WARNING: Not all MMA Academies are Created Equal”):
Most other Martial Arts gyms do not have a firm curriculum to help accelerate the learning process of its students – nor do they have a safety policy in place for how classes are run and taught… its a “free for all”! If you’ve made your way to this website, I know for a fact that those factors are not what you’re looking for. You don’t want to get “thrown to the wolves” in sparring, and sent home bruised. You don’t want to be learning from people who are only teaching “MMA” or “RI Muay Thai training” because it is popular and they can make money pretending to teach it. If you’ve made your way to this website, you want a professional Mixed Martial Arts facility taught by real EXPERTS, in an environment suited for anyone. You want classes tailored specifically to building the fundamental skills of MMA, not a room full of brawlers (one extreme) or people teaching Karate masked as “UFC fighting” (the other extreme). If you want fitness training, a great environment, and precise / effective MMA skills, you’ve arrived at EXACTLY the right place…
(Click here if you think you’re “Too Old” to train Mixed Martial Arts – Because You’re Wrong!)Here are some of the reasons people from all over Rhode Island choose and stick with Team Black Diamond to reach their fitness, competition, self-defense, and martial arts goals:
No other MMA gym has the confidence in their programs to offer a WHOLE MONTH of Free training, and a 2-month Money-Back Guarantee. In the Battleground of RI MMA schools, our offer stands in Victory: … Not to mention, we’re confident that in Southern Rhode Island, there is NO other reputable source for Muay Thai Kickboxing / real MMA training.
Coach Tim O’Connell is a professional fighter with a passion for teaching others. He was won a number of MMA fights and titles, in addition to dominating his competition in expert level grappling tournaments. He is also versed in Muay Thai Kickboxing and essential Boxing skills. Don’t be deceived by other “MMA” schools, Coach Tim is actually the ONLY PROFESSIONAL FIGHTER in all of Southern Rhode Island. Always a learner, Coach Tim is also a nutrition and strength training expert, helping students loose weight, get in the shape of their lives, and design training programs for their needs. Whether they’ve never worked out before, or whether they are already in great fighting shape, Tim is known for taking people’s Fitness and MMA Skills to the NEXT LEVEL. Whether your goal is totally revamping your fitness regimen or learning tested, effective fighting and self-defense technique – Coach Tim is here to help you reach your goals.

Coach Daniel Faggella, Head Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Instructor, MMA Author, and Writer for International Jiu JItsu Publications
Head instructor Coach Dan Faggella has been called “Rhode Island’s Best Grappler,” and for good reason. Pound for pound, Dan has won an incredible number of expert level tournaments, often “tapping out” opponent’s nearly twice his size! Dan also believes in the value of helping other and being an effective teacher and leader. To spread his passion Dan writes for a number of magazines (including the famous Jiu Jitsu Magazine), and teaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu seminars up and down the East Coast.
Learn more about our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program by clicking here.
Dan is also a professional speaker, presenting for colleges, athletic teams, and other MMA academies. As an Ivy League graduate with a Masters degree in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, Dan firmly believes in effective teaching, and making sure his classes are designed to not only be fun and be a workout, but also to ingrain the best MMA technique possible!

Getting into Amazing Shape (and having a BLAST doing it) is one of the main reasons people come to train at BDMMA. Traditional fitness regimens become stale and boring. Lifting weights and running are usually a matter of “will power” and people don’t really like the activity itself. In our classes – people don’t even realize that they’re getting a workout. Between warming up, practicing kicks, punches, blocks, knees, and MMA combinations, everyone in the room is working on their strength, endurance, and cardio – and until we take breaks for water most people don’t even realize how hard they’ve worked! That’s because classes here are FUN and engaging, the kind of classes you don’t want to leave even after class ends – the kind of class that makes time FLY. Plus, there’s the accountability factor of having other motivated, Health-Conscious people on your team, encouraging you to truly do the right thing and STAY ON TRACK. In combination with a coach who cares, this makes a huge difference in fitness results.
Here’s one of our most proud BDMMA Success Stories. If Matt can loose over 100 pounds, then ANYONE training with us can Loose Weight and Get Ripped!:

If Matt can loose over 100 lbs in just over a year, anyone can reach their fitness goals training MMA with our team!
To anyone looking for the BEST system for Real Self Defense…
Its a Battleground out other. Many potential BDMMA students want to come to us for the purpose of learning a real, effective self-defense system. Some have been attacked or threatened, some have high-risk jobs such as police officers or prison guards, others simply want to know that when they walk into a room or a situation they can HANDLE whatever happens. They want to build a kind of collected calmness that comes with knowing that you can handle any threat.
The beauty of MMA is that – unlike 99% of traditional martial arts – it is constantly being tested at high and higher levels of competition. Styles clash, techniques stand the test of a real fight, and different strategies get weeded out. This REAL APPLICATION of skills (not just punching the air and performing flashy movements) is what makes MMA effective for real conflict – where you’d BETTER know exactly what you’re doing, and you’d better know what it feels like to make real contact and apply a technique on a resisting opponent (not a “demonstration partner” who falls over for you).
Here the best evidence of all:

Officer Kyle Rooney - after only a few short months of training - was able to apply a Mixed Martial Arts restraint hold on a larger, stronger, armed attacker!
Some martial arts schools will teach their new students to use long karate staffs and nunchucks, and will even have their small children practice with plastic swords. The fact of the matter is, we just don’t believe that these tools serve a purpose in modern martial arts. How likely do you think you will be attacked by someone with a sword when you have a sword as well? How likely is it that you’ll use a pair of Nunchucks to defend someone who tries to tackle you on the way back to your car?
Not likely…
Learning real moves that you can use against a real physical attack is what is most important, and with MMA, you’ll be learning PROVEN techniques that have not been practiced on imaginary partners, but on real opponents through years over MMA’s development of a sport – through real MMA / Muay Thai / UFC competitions!
(YOU don’t have to be a fighter to test the moves, but through our drills and specific training sessions you’ll be building these same effective fight techniques as top competitors).
Learn from real fighters and you don’t have to BE a “cage fighter” to be JUST as effective as one in a real fight! At BDMMA, we’re fortunate enough to have Coach Timothy O’Connell – the only Pro Fighter in Southern Rhode Island – to teach real moves work in the cage and in the street with maximum effectiveness.

BDMMA's students and instructors are Top Notch, and they proove it by testing their skills and beating out the competition again and again!
If you’re looking for MMA Skills that you can really use in competition, we have precisely what you want. All of our instructors are expert-level competitors in addition to being great teachers. Our instructors have won and brought home medals from MMA Cage Fights, Expert NAGA Tournaments, Pro Division Grappling Tournaments, Grappler’s Quest Expert tournaments, Open Weight Class (“Absolute”) Divisions, and more. We’ve had competitors from up and down the east coast come to our training room to sharpen their skills, and our instructors have been requested for seminars from New Hampshire, to New York, to Virginia, and more! (What other local “MMA” academy can brag about that?) At BDMMA, you’ll be learning the “real deal,” and within your first week of MMA training (when you get your own pair of real MMA gloves with YOUR NAME on them) you’ll already feel sharp with your basic strikes, you’ll feel your physical strength and endurance growing, and you’ll be 10x more CONFIDENT. Here’s Nathan Chubay, a BDMMA student with a message for you about his experiences here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lkmO861euc
Here’s what one of our students had to say about his time training with us:
Don’t let these knock-off “Karate” gyms teach you the wrong way, come train real MMA with real MMA fighters and expert-level competitors!
Now for the question that all of our fans and web followers want to know…
People can’t believe we’d be bold enough to just GIVE AWAY an entire month of our awesome Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai Kickboxing program to anyone who asked for it. Some people think that we must charge some money to train people for 30 days strait, that we must have some kind of ‘trick’ to play on new students in order to make them pay or something… The catch is… there is no catch!! Our 30 Day Trial is completely NO OBLIGATION whatsoever. Anyone is absolutely welcome to take us up on our trial (and get their FREE T-Shirt) just by giving us a call. We GIVE people access to our world-class fitness and MMA and/or Muay Thai program because we know what we are teaching is the “real deal,” and that people who try it will love training with us. Our RI MMA training classes are 100% Free for a month! We’ve had people come into our academy in complete disbelief that we’d give away a month of our programs for FREE – until they get to try it themselves. Many of these same folks get HOOKED on day 1 after learning new martial arts techniques, blowing off steam, and getting a more Exciting Workout than they’ve ever gotten before!
The most important message you might ever read…
If you want to get a “sneak peak” into our MMA Curriculum and learn some of our BEST MMA Techniques from the comfort of your computer chair, let us send them to you FREE via email. Plus you’ll learn more about our 30-Day Trial. Not giving us a shot now means missing out on something special. Your interest has taken you here, and by NOT being touch, you’ll never see the unique benefits you’re reading about on these pages. No matter what your schedule is like, no matter what your fitness level, no matter your previous experience, no matter your age, we have a program to fit you. We have classes day and night, multiple classes to fit any level of cardio or past experience.
Now that you’ve gotten to know about us, about our instructors, and what it is that makes us unique – won’t young come and give us a try. Do YOURSELF the favor of clicking the link <HERE> and experience more of what we’re all about.
Sincerely,
PS: Remember that the 30-Day Trial comes with a FREE Private Lesson with one of our Professional Instructors. Do you want to learn MMA from a Professional Fighter? Do you want to know the exciting fitness secrets of the world’s best combat sports athletes? Then don’t forget to call us up at 401-308-3229.
PPS: Also remember that a FREE T-Shirt comes with the 30-Day Free Trial! Come in, experience the gym, and we’re confident enough to give you some gear just for trying us out. Muay Thai training and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are a workout like no other!
PPPS: Don’t give up an opportunity that’s too good to stay around for long, click <HERE> now and get more FREE stuff before these deals are over and done with!
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Program | Kid’s Martial Arts Classes | Women’s Fitness Boot Camp | Privacy Policy