American Top Team Legacy and History

American Top Team (ATT) is one of the most famous MMA teams in Florida where a great number of mixed martial artists are trained. ATT is the best training center for multiple martial arts like wrestling, MMA, boxing, and BJJ. A great number of UFC champions emerged from here. ATT also won various medals for the best gym for MMA.

Dan Lambert, a BJJ enthusiast and businessman, is the founder of American Top Team. He wanted to make a gym in which great fighters are trained. To fulfill his dream, he founded American Top Team in 2001.

Ricardo Liborio is the co-founder and former head instructor of the ATT gym. He received his BJJ black belt under Carlson Gracie Sr. He was also co-founder of the Brazilian Top Team. Librio has the honor of being one of the very first BJJ World Champions in the heavyweight division.

Before Dan Lambert came up with the idea of establishing a leading MMA gym, the Brazilian Top Team was one of the most famous gyms located in Brazil where multiple martial arts trained under a single roof. Many of the co-founders of the Brazilian Top Team are students of Carlson Gracie.

At an event, Lambert met with one of the co-founders of BTT, Ricardo Liborio who wanted to offer Lambert a coaching place in BTT. However, Lambert approached Liborio with his own offer. He invited Liborio to coach at ATT so that Lambert had someone to trust his business with. Liborio accepted Lambert’s offer and helped him to establish a world-class academy in the USA where all martial arts could be trained. Together they named the gym, the American Top Team. The American Top Team is established on the basis of the Brazilian Top Team and co-founders of both teams are also the same. But both teams do not have any association between them.

Over its 22 year history, ATT has produced a great number of champions in various martial art disciplines, especially MMA. ATT also won various awards for the best gym. A big team of coaches who help their students in different martial arts also makes this team one of the best teams in the world.

Conan Silveira became the ATT coach after Ricardo Liborio left his designation. Silveira, a BJJ black belt under Carlson Gracie, was one of the pioneers of MMA. Conan Silveria is one of the first students under Carlson Gracie and also the BJJ National Champion. He was the first student of Carlson, who started his own school in America. Conan Silveira has forty years of experience in martial arts.

Mike Brown is working as an MMA coach in the American Top Team. He is a former WEC Featherweight Champion. After announcing his retirement from UFC, he is fully focused on coaching. His MMA record is 26-9 with 13 submission wins and five knockout wins. His major achievements in martial arts are as follows:

• Thirty-five MMA fight career
• WEC Featherweight Champion
• Six times UFC veteran
• Eight times WEC veteran
• AFC Featherweight Champion
• Ranked #1 in bodogFIGHT

Marcos da Matta is a black belt under Carlson Gracie. He worked with Carlson Gracie and also in BTT. He is one of the most revered BJJ coaches in the American Top Team. Marcos DaMatta achieved multiple medals in major BJJ championships including IBJJF World Championship, Pan American Championship, and Brazilian National Championships. He also had the honor of becoming the world champion in the very first IBJJF World Championship, held in 1996. His other notable achievements include:

• BJJ World Champion
• NAGA Superfight Winner
• GQ Superfight Winner
• SWO Champion
• ADCC Invitee

Steve Mocco is a former MMA fighter, amateur wrestler, and judoka. He is serving on the American Top Team as a wrestling coach and also working at Lehigh University as an assistant wrestling coach. His MMA record is 5-1-0. His achievements in martial arts are as follows:

• 2008 Olympian
• Two Times NCAA Champion
• NCAA Finalist x 4 
• Hodge Trophy Winner
• Won the Alexander Medved Invitational & Ivan Yarygin Memorial Golden Grand Prix
• Most accomplished American wrestler in heavyweight
• Freestyle Senior National title at 120 kg

Muhammad Lawal, a former mixed martial artist and professional American wrestler, is famous with the name, King Mo. He is one of the best MMA coaches in the American Top Team. His MMA record is 21-10-0. His major achievements in martial arts are as follows:

• RIZIN Tournament Champion
• StrikeForce Champion in the Light Heavyweight Division
• More than 30 MMA Pro Fights
• Freestyle National Champion in University
• U.S. National Champion in Freestyle Wrestling
• NCAA Division II National Wrestling Champion
• Division l All-American – Wrestling
• Big 12 Conference Champ – Wrestling

Thiago Alves is not only a former MMA fighter but also one of the most prominent figures in Brazilian bare-knuckle fighting. He started his martial arts career with Muay Thai and then transitioned to MMA. Currently, he works as a striking coach for the American Top Team. His main achievements in the field of martial arts are as follows:

• 22-times UFC Veteran
• Famous for his strong leg attacks
• MMA Pro Record 22-11

Artem Levin, striking coach at American Top Team, is a Muay Thai kickboxer in the middleweight division. He is also famous as ‘‘The Lion.’’ Artem Levin is one of the top ten middleweight fighters ranked by Combat Press. He maintained this title from September 2014 to March 2022. His kickboxing record is 55-7-0, while his professional boxing record is 1-0. His main achievements are as follows:

• Six-times World Champion in Muay Thai
• Five-times European Champion in Muay Thai

Dyah Ali Davis, son of Howard Davis Jr., is a 76’ boxing Olympic Gold medalist. Currently, he serves on the American Top Team as a boxing coach. His boxing career record is 25-4-1. His main achievements are as follows:

• Former NABF Super-Middleweight Champion
• Competes in the Super-Middleweight Division

Steve Bruno is the brother of an MMA fighter, Mike Bruno. He is a professional MMA fighter with a record of 15-6-0. He competed in UFC, MFC, and IFL competitions. The list of his achievements are as follow:

• SPIRIT MC Middleweight Champion
• UFC Veteran

Anderson Franca is a Taekwondo black belt, Kickboxing black belt, BJJ black belt, and master in Muay Thai. He is the famous striking coach at American Top Team and has trained multiple UFC fighters and world champions.

Luciano Dos Santos received training under Master Noguchi and Katel Kubis. He has fought 18 Pro MMA fights and has been a striking coach in the American Top Team.

Vitelmo Katel Kubis is an American Top Team striking coach, who trained under Master Noguchi. He competed in both Muay Thai and Pro MMA championships. His notable achievements are as follows:

• Muay Thai record 61-4
• Pro MMA record 8-4-1

Gabriel de Oliveira trained students of the Brazilian National Team in the Olympics 2004 and in six World Boxing Championships. He was a boxing commentator in two types of Olympic games, including Rio de Janeiro and London (TV Bandsports). Gabriel de Oliveira is a co-founder of the Oliveira Brothers Team. He completed his studies in physical education in 1998 from FEFISA. Currently, he serves as a boxing coach at the American Top Team.

Everton Bittar Oliveira has completed his degree in physical education and is a certified coach for physical conditioning and circuit training. The list of his achievements are as follows:

• Strength coach for professional racing car drivers
• Practitioner in NLP ( Neuro Linguistic Program)
• Functional and Personal Training Special
• Resistance Training Specialist (RTS)
• PGDid in Sports Training 

Will Fuchs is a strength and conditioning coach at the American Top Team. He is a certified functional strength coach. He completed his B.S. in Exercise Science. He is also an XPE Sports Master Trainer.

Tyron Woodley is a professional boxer, mixed martial artist, and a representative of the American Top Team. Woodley is a former UFC welterweight champion who defended his title four times. His MMA amateur record is 7-0 while his pro record is 19-7-1. He has a long list of UFC accomplishments. He debuted in professional boxing in 2021 and lost both fights in the same year. He started his MMA career in 2006 and has continued his boxing career since 2021, which continues to this day.

Joanna Jędrzejczyk is a mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She is considered one of the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artists of all time. Jędrzejczyk is the second-most accomplished MMA fighter in the UFC female division, with the second-highest number of title wins.

She has defended her title five times and is considered the first polished UFC champion. Jędrzejczyk is also honored to be the first female European and third European overall to be a UFC champion. Her kickboxing record is 27-3-0, her MMA record is 16-5-0, and her Muay Thai record is 37-3-0. Her MMA career lasted from 2012 to 2022.

Kayla Harrison is an American professional MMA fighter, a former Olympic champion, and judo world champion. After competing in Judo in the 2016 Olympics, she debuted in MMA in the lightweight division. Kayla Harrison was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in March 2023. She is a 6th-dan black belt in Judo. Her MMA record is 15-1-0. Kayla Harrison started her MMA career in 2018 and still continues.

Amanda Nunes is a former mixed martial artist. After Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes is the third UFC fighter who became UFC champion in two weight categories: featherweight and bantamweight. Her MMA record is 23-5-0. She announced her retirement from MMA after her last fight in UFC 289, which she won by decision. Her MMA career spanned from  2008 to 2023.

Dustin Poirier is a professional MMA fighter who is set to become the third-ranked UFC lightweight MMA fighter in August 2023. He started his martial arts career at Gladiators Academy. Later in 2012, he started his journey with the American Top Team and remains connected with ATT to this day.

Poirier is a BJJ black belt under Tim Credeur, and his MMA record stands at 29-8-0. He started his MMA career in 2009 and still continues to compete in various fights. He has an impressive list of UFC accomplishments and a commendable professional MMA record, which is as follows:

American Top Team is one of the few martial arts teams in the United States that focus on multiple martial arts disciplines in the same school. Even though this school shares the same foundation and co-founders of the Brazilian Top Team, it has no affiliation with BTT. American Top Team was founded by businessman Dan Lambert, a devoted BJJ enthusiast himself. He wanted to start a school like the Brazilian Top Team but in the USA. Now the American Top Team has highly revered instructors who are dedicated to producing great MMA fighters.