Paul Riley

Paul Riley was born in Hayti, Missouri then moved to New Madrid, Missouri where as a youth he participated in football and baseball. His combat training started early at the age of 12 where he boxed at a gym opened by a local pastor. Riley went 14-5 in his amateur career where he wasn’t especially fond of the amateur boxing scoring system.

At the age of 19 Riley joined the Navy where he completed four tours of duty in Iraq. After his military stint Paul worked as a professional trainer in Chico, CA. There he met professional mixed-martial artist Shaun Beckett who trained extensively with the Cesar Gracie Camp and Nick Diaz in particular. That is where Riley got his introduction to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He started training with high level BJJ practitioners and began to survive without tapping out. When traveling to other schools Riley was starting to dominate. From there he began to put the discipline of boxing and jiu-jitsu together and fell in love with MMA.

Unfortunately, Riley went through a divorce, and as a result he reenlisted in the service, this time the Army, to help take care of his son. Riley has been stationed in Fort Campbell, KY where he has been preparing for his journey to Afghanistan in early May 2010. He will train there but will hit the full load of MMA training upon his return to Fort Campbell including fighting in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee promotions. He will be stationed in Kentucky for 6-8 months prior to returning to his native land of California where he will train with the Diaz brothers at their new school in Lodi and his hometown of Chico.

You can keep tabs on Paul at MMA news site ProFighting-fans.com where he will write regular blogs which will detail his training and his experiences overseas.

Height: 5'-11"

Weight Class: Welterweight (170 pounds)

Team: SSF Submission Academy

Fighters Guard Management is putting together sponsors for Paul while he is on foreign soil fighting to protect our freedoms. It is a great opportunity to gain exposure for your company and support a true American hero. If you are interested please contact Fighter's Guard Management at scott (at) fightersguard.com or contact Scott at 513-432-2867 or Tim at 513-444-7713.