Victory MMA and Fitness

Victory MMA and Fitness has one of the more distinctive pedigrees in San Diego jiu jitsu. Its Jiu-Jitsu team was formed by owner and black belt Jocko Willink, the retired Navy SEAL officer, with three-time ADCC champion Dean “The Boogieman” Lister anchoring the program. Victory’s current instructor roster also includes Jeff Glover, giving the academy recognizable names from several different eras of American grappling rather than a single-head-coach identity. The gym is much broader than BJJ alone. Victory operates as a 22,000-square-foot combat-sports facility with jiu jitsu, MMA, boxing and Muay Thai, and its current program includes beginner-friendly training as well as gi and no-gi work. Dean Lister teaches both gi and no-gi, while the wider coaching staff lets students cross-train striking and MMA without leaving the building. Kids and young-adult jiu jitsu are also part of the program. The currently listed BJJ drop-in price on Let’s Roll is $25. For someone comparing gyms around central San Diego, Victory makes the most sense when variety and coaching pedigree matter as much as a pure BJJ competition-room atmosphere. The Midway Drive location is convenient to Point Loma, Ocean Beach and the Sports Arena area, and the combination of Jocko Willink’s role in building the team, Dean Lister’s ADCC history and Jeff Glover on the instructor roster gives Victory an identity that is hard to confuse with another academy in the city.

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