Javier “Showtime” Vazquez is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is known as a natural athlete with potential for great success in combat sports. Javi Vazquez is well-known in the west coast BJJ scene for his prowess in tournaments and did very well in mixed martial arts until a series of injuries derailed his promising career in 2003. Vazquez returned to MMA action in 2007 with a win in February over Adriano Pereira and defeated JC Pennington in EliteXC on SHOWTIME on October 26th. To the surprise of many who were excited for his return, Vazquez announced his retirement from MMA after the Pennington fight.

In our conversation with the former King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge champion we’ll hear about his reasons for returning to action and his subsequent decision to leave active competition to focus on training and coaching others. He’ll also give us some tips for Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who want to transition into MMA! And just because Javi Vazquez has stepped away from MMA himself, don’t forget the name because this elite competitor claims that he does still intend to win the Abu Dhabi Submission Grappling Championships before he’s all done!