At LFA 45 on Friday, Black House MMA had a huge night — going five for five, with all five fights ending in stoppages.
Black House MMA is no stranger to MMA fans. Anderson Silva, for one, trained with the team. As has any number of champions and top fighters. Nineteen champions, in fact, have trained under current coach Kenny Johnson. That’s an impressive number. So was the 5 for 5 number the team put up at LFA 45 this past weekend. Five fighters, five wins — and even more incredible, five finishes.
Cageside Press caught up with Black House’s Johnson, who spoke about the evolution of the team over the years.
“Everyone’s used to hearing Black House when we had Anderson, Lyoto, Nogueira, Feijão, who’s here tonight. Those are the guys that started it, that was the nucleus of what was going on with Jorge [Guimaraes], Ed Suarez, and whatnot,” Johnson explained. “All of them were champions.” Over time, turnover and titles changing hands saw a changing of the guard. “Then we started getting guys like Kevin Casey, Pedro Munhoz, Chinzo Machida, James Moontasri, Justine Kish, Brian Ortega. We probably put 8 to 10 guys, plus a girl, in the UFC. Just from the next generation.”
“This generation you’re seeing here in 2018,” Johnson said, “is probably two to three generations away from the original Black House nine to ten years ago.”
Despite the new faces, however, it’s not like Black House MMA went anywhere. “We’ve always been around, we’ve always been relevant, but we’re grooming a new stable. We have a renewed push for things.”
“I was at the MMA awards, I saw gyms get nominated for Gym of the Year with a champion, maybe two,” Johnson added. “They don’t have the depth we have. So this year, 2018, is going to be a good year for Black House. So is 2019, and 2020.”
