Javier "Showtime" Vazquez
Born in Santiago, Cuba on April 27, 1976 Javier Vazquez came to the US at the age of four. He grew up in El Monte, California and started wrestling as a sophomore at Arroyo High School at the age of 15. In 1994 he placed 3rd at the CIF wrestling tournament and continued his stellar high school career by placing 4th in the Southern Section Masters tournament. He was just one match away from placing in the high school state wrestling championships, ending up in the top 12 in the state at 130 lbs. He was voted team captain in both his junior and senior years. He continued his wrestling career at Mt. San Antonio College where he again proved himself to be one of “the best of the best” by finishing 7th in the state and being voted team caption for his leadership on and off the mat.
In 1997 Javier started learning Jiu-Jitsu under the renowned Carlson Gracie Team. He competed in every Jiu-Jitsu and submission tournament he could and eventually found himself in the fight game. His first no-holds-barred match was at Neutral Grounds in 1998 which resulted in a controversial decision. Several more fights in smaller venues followed and he then took time off from fighting to train and compete in Jiu-Jitsu. After only 5 years of training he earned his black belt from the Carlson Gracie Team.
His Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling tournament wins include: 2004 ADCC North American Trials champion, Grappling Games Advanced Division champion (voted Most Technical Fighter) 2x Copa Pacifica champion, Gracie Worlds Champion, Black Belt Challenge champion, 3x California State jiu-jitsu champion, 4x U.S. Open jiu-jitsu champion, 3rd place Grapplers Quest Open Weight Invitational Tournament , and others.
In his mixed martial arts (MMA) career he has compiled a 12-2 record and was at one time considered by many to be the world’s top fighter at 155 lbs. Competing in his trademark pink shorts and earning the nickname of “Showtime” for his spectacular finishing moves, Javier was the first ever King of the Cage world lightweight champion, a title he held for two years, he was also the Gladiator Challenge world champion and he had two victories at with the Elite XC organization where he briefly retired from the sport. With 17 pro and amateur fights, Javier is still considered one of the most technical MMA fighters in the world.
A consummate competitor, Javier has over 40 combined wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and submission wrestling titles to his credit, but like any champion he still wants more. Javier was named the “Best Grappler in the United States”.
Javier’s love of the sport has led him to train and teach others for nearly his entire life. He started coaching high school and kids wrestling in 1995 and to this day still visits Arroyo High School and Mt. Sac College to volunteer as a wrestling coach. From 1999-2003 he was the one of the Head Instructors at Millennia Jiu-Jitsu academy and was one of its original founders along 2 friends.
In 2004 Javier opened his own academy, Showtime Jiu-Jitsu, and was also hired as the Head Jiu-Jitsu Instructor at Mt. San Antonio College and during this time he created and developed a system of teaching that gives students and teachers a solid foundation never seen before in the Jiu-Jitsu, MMA and Grappling community.
In 2009 after canceling his contract with Elite XC before the company went under, Javier was invited to fight at a new organization called " The Ultimate Chaos". He made painfully quick work of Mark Kergosien -- a last-minute replacement for UFC veteran Din Thomas. The tapout followed 59 seconds into round one.
He went on to sign with Affliction for their Trilogy card and as that card was cancelled he was picked up by none other then the WEC.
His first 2 fights in 2009 with the organization went to judges decisions and they both went in the other corners favor giving Javier 2 consecutive and controversial split decisions losses in the WEC in a year that became very clear that judging still has years to go in order to keep up with the sport.
Javier is married to Rose Gracie and with Rose's older daughter Stephanie (12) leading the pack they had 2 young daughters Railey (3) and Raifa (1).
Today you can find Javier training everyday and with the focus of spreading his knowledge, Javier is currently teaching in Rancho Cucamonga CA.
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