Juan Carlos Roman who is a coach and instructor at Cor Fitness MMA in Mint Hill has turned professional to compete in MMA fighter competition. Roman is currently the lead instructor (Sensei) of the school’s Children’s Kenpo Karate program, Lead striking instructor in Boxing, Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) instructor.
Roman was born in Chicago, however his family moved to Puerto Rico where he was raised. His family taught him strong values and the importance of hard work and making a commitment to achievement. Over the years while growing up and into adulthood he applied his efforts into fine tuning his skills and determination in the martial arts. At the age of 19 he earned a black belt and instructor credentials in Kenpo Karate. He found his passion which is teaching and competing at a high level.
Roman began exploring other martial arts and became proficient in kickboxing and boxing while opening up his own Dogo in Puerto Rico. When he returned back to the United States he quickly worked hard to obtain his current Black Belt status of 4 degrees.
Success did not come easy he lost his first amateur bout. He quickly realized he needed to add more skill sets to compete against tough challengers. He began to improve his wrestling, grappling, and learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu to expand and round out his MMA skills to become more diverse in various martial arts techniques he can use in competition.
Roman turned his career around and won the next five amateur fights. He is currently 4-0 in his last four bouts and is 2-0 in his professional debut. “Martial Arts is not just a sport, but a way of life,” said Roman. “It taught me work ethic, drive, discipline, respect and more importantly patients and to think strategically.” All these factors are important when Roman steps into the Octagon to compete. He also applies these learning experiences when he is teaching a class to both children, teens and adults.
Fighting has a negative stigma, however, in reality football, hockey, lacrosse, rugby and other contact sports all present a certain amount of risk to personal injury. Roman is currently an active MMA professional competitor in the “King of the Cage ” promotion that is considered a premier fighting organization within the United States. Many UFC and Bellator competitors have fought in the KOTC as a stepping stone in launching their careers.
Roman is determined to follow the footsteps of many successful competitors in the sport and will continue to bring joy and passion to the martial arts and hopes to instill his determination and commitment to his students of all ages.
Those who are interested can watch Roman compete by visiting King of the Cage Facebook page and viewing the video titled “Free MMA from NY” or it will be aired in December on MavTV. If you want to learn more about the martial arts contact Juan at Cor Fitness MMA located in Mint Hill.
