Kenny Johnson began his combat sports career as a stand-out wrestler in high school. His wrestling abilities allowed him to continue competition into college where he became a NCAA Division 3 All-American at Cornell College where he won multiple championships. He caught the eye of the University of Iowa where he transferred to and competed on undefeated Big Ten and National Championship teams under legendary coach, Dan Gable.
Kenny’s passion for the sport kept him involved after college as he coached for the Northwestern University while training for the 1996 Olympics. In 1997, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where he was a member of the first U.S. Olympic Training Center resident program in freestyle wrestling. While attending, he was introduced to some of today’s elite mma fighters such as Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, and Matt Lindland.
Kenny’s strong wrestling base helped him make the transition into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition where he has already placed first in the Pan-Americans, Gi and No-Gi World Jiu Jitsu Championships in 2007-09. As an incredible grappler, he moved on to become a Mixed Martial Artist where he currently trains all aspects of the sport.
In addition to his professional MMA career, Kenny serves as the wrestling coach to MMA Champions BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Paul Daley and Minotauro Nogueira and was even invited to coach Nogueria’s team on The Ultimate Fighter Season 8.