World-class trainer and manager Marco Alvan has helped develop some of the MMA world’s most talented fighters.  Alvan, the head instructor for Team Link BJJ in Ludlow, Massa., is currently training heavyweight Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (11-4) for his upcoming fight at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones.

Gonzaga and Alvan

A successful MMA fighter and grappler in his own right, Alvan began training in Judo in 1981 at just eight years old.  At the age of 15, he began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Master Jorge Pina Barbosa.  Barbosa brought Alvan to the original Gracie Barra school in Alvan’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Alvan began training under Master Carlos Gracie Jr. at Barra Gracie, where he shared the mat with Renzo, Ryan and Ralph Gracie at the same time as they were developing their BJJ skills.  He ended his training at Gracie Barra, after receiving his blue belt, and joined the Brazilian army at the age of 19.

Master Carlos Augusto, a fourth-degree BJJ black belt under Master Reylson Gracie, soon opened up a gym in the town that Alvan had relocated to.  Alvan began training at the gym and earned his black belt under Augusto. Alvan taught BJJ in the Brazilian army for seven years.

In 2001, Alvan came to America to help Augusto at his affiliate in California, but he soon decided to relocate to Massachusetts, where he had family.  He had trouble finding a job as a BJJ instructor at first due to location and language barriers, but eventually established a large enough student base to found his own academy and fight team, Marco Alvan BJJ.

Alvan at the NY International BJJ Open

The team changed its name to Link BJJ with the addition of Gonzaga in 2006.  Team Link is now host to many notable MMA fighters and grapplers, including Gonzaga, UFC welterweight Ricardo Funch (7-1), former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho (19-1), World Fighting League and XCFL light-heavyweight champion Alexandre Moreno (10-2), heavyweight Brian Olsen (9-1) and many other developing fighters.  UFC light-heavyweight Thiago Silva was formerly managed by Alvan and trained at Team Link.

In addition to being a distinguished MMA team, Link BJJ holds many achievements in grappling competition.  Team Link has won the title of North American Grappling Association (NAGA) New England overall team champion for six consecutive years.  Alvan holds many individual accomplishments in grappling as well.

On Feb. 4, 2006, Alvan was named Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor of the year (2005), and inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.  In 2009, he placed first in the black belt division of the New York International Open Championship hosted by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF).  Alvan also holds a purple belt in Judo.

Alvan was scheduled to meet UFC veteran and TUF season four contestant Jorge Rivera in a 10-minute NAGA no-gi superfight on Feb. 6, but the grappling match was postponed due to Rivera’s upcoming fight with Nate Quarry at UFC Fight Night 21.  Alvan has a background competing in MMA as well, going 3-1 in professional competitions in both Brazil and America before retiring.

Paulo Filho is expected to meet Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard in a non-title fight at Bellator Fighting Championships 19 on May 20.

Ricardo Funch was scheduled to face Matt Riddle at UFC 111, but was forced out of the fight due to a foot laceration.

Gabriel Gonzaga will meet Junior Dos Santos in the co-main event of UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones Sunday night. The event will air live on Versus at 9 p.m. EST.

Video: Marco Alvan at NY International BJJ Open (2009) and Team Link instructional videos

Is it destiny to grow up in a family of a certain trade? What about a family of fighters? The historic Hart family, hailing from Canada is one of the most famous amateur and professional wrestling families in organized fighting history. However, there is a more unique story…

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Greg Jackson took a different route than your run-of-the-mill mixed martial artist. With a family of champion wrestlers, including his father, uncle and brother, Jackson learned to develop wrestling rather quickly, while growing up in a rough neighborhood.

What’s more, Jackson decided, at a young age, that wrestling wasn’t enough. Mixing in some Judo with his wrestling expertise, Jackson soon developed his own form of martial arts. And by 1992, he was ready to open up shop and begin teaching others what had become known as Gaidojutsu.

History was made in 1993, when Jackson saw his first Ultimate Fighting Championship, and took a page out of the Gracie family’s book, adding BJJ to his fighting form. He’s also added kickboxing to the form, learning from his mentor and five time world champion Michael Winkeljohn.

Jackson at UFC 96

What is known as The World’s Premiere Fight Team, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, located in his hometown of Albuquerque was officially named an MMA school in 2000, and since its birth, the school has developed ten world champions. It is even said that Jackson’s fighters have an 81-percent winning percentage, according to Sherdog.

As a guy that mainly taught himself, Jackson’s coaching tendencies are among the best, as seen by his repertoire of successful fighters, which include light heavyweight Jon Jones, Nate Marquardt, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, and current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

The best thing about Jackson’s coaching? Passion.

“I like changing people’s lives for the better,” Jackson said in an interview with his school’s website.

“I think that’s definitely the part I’m addicted to. When I see somebody that you know is just a normal student and their life becomes better, they become a stronger person, they become a better person, that something that really exemplifies why I’m in this business.”

Jackson works alongside Winkeljohn, who coaches kickboxing at the academy, as well as strength and conditioning coach Chris Luttrell, and Chad Lemoine – each providing expertise in the areas that make Gaidojutsu the powerful form that it has become.

Jackson is currently filming a documentary on the genesis and development of Jackson’s MMA, and will see some of his fighters face off at UFC Live on March 21, 2010, including Jon Jones, Paul Buentello, Eliot Marshall, Clay Guida, and Brendan Shaub.