Ex-ATT Coach Andre Benkei to Produce MMA Reality Show at UFC Gym in Florida
Former American Top Team coach Andre Benkei is headed back to Florida.
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“It´s gonna be huge — 30,000 square feet,” Benkei told Sherdog.com. “Besides an amazing gym with all facilities you can imagine, the gym will have an MMA training center with a top team of coaches. We already signed Dorian Price (muay thai), who has been living in Thailand for the last 20 years, and Adam Mazin (jiu-jitsu), who represents Dean Lister. Cuban boxer Pedro Dias will be with us, and soon we will announce a [decorated] American wrestler.”
Benkei also revealed that an MMA-themed reality show will be filmed at the facility.
“The grand opening will be in August, but we will start filming a reality show called ‘Road to the Cage ‘ before that,” he said. “The reality show will consist of the training routine of our guys fighting in local events until reaching the top events. They will not fight each other like in other MMA reality shows.
“We will have between 12 and 24 guys living in a house, eating the same food and having the same routine. We will mix new talents with fighters who have already fought big events like Guto Inocente, Edson Panico and Bruce Souto. We will have talents from Dagestan, Europe, Japan and we will do trials in the gym. That's the formula. We will use YouTube and now we are negotiating OnlyFans and a TV channel. We will have all the support of the Tampa Bay community.”
According to Benkei, the concept of "Road to the Cage" transcends traditional boundaries by integrating professional fighter training with the ethos of fitness and family.
“It will be different from other MMA reality shows you have seen. Besides training routines, we will have Florida's picturesque landscapes, like the renowned beaches of Clearwater and Sarasota. The main goal will be to showcase the journey of aspiring fighters as they train relentlessly to compete on the grandest stage of them all: the UFC,” he said. “Can´t wait to start it.”
