Purple belt Ryan Arreola is used to having to fight. A Marine veteran, he's been on two tours to Afghanistan and has been diagnosed with PTSD and depression.

But when he returned to civilian life, he had no idea his struggles had only just begun. On November 2, 2015, his mother unexpectedly passed away. Six months later, his best friend was killed. And just this year on March 23, he lost everything he owned when a gas leak caused his house to explode, destroying everything inside and injuring his two dogs so severely they had to be euthanized.



"My dogs were my best friends. They are a huge reason why I got through what I was already dealing with," Arreola said.

Through it all, though, Arreola hasn't stopped moving forward, and his ability to do so is largely thanks to jiu-jitsu.

A member of Armezzani Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Monaca, PA, he trains nearly every day. It's more than just a hobby or even a passion -- it's therapy.

"Jiu-jitsu has kept my mind sane through all of this. It's like no matter what when I'm on the mats, I don't feel anything. Everything just goes away for the moment," he said.

Never one to be content with doing the bare minimum, Arreola's going to put what he's learned to the test by taking the Fight To Win Pro stage for the first time on Friday near Pittsburgh in Delmont, PA.

​​Watch Fight To Win Pro 42 Live or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling

He was originally slated to compete on the Cleveland card a few months ago, but ultimately, the stress caused by the home explosion forced him to pull out. This time, though, he's come ready to prove himself to his hometown crowd.

My expectations are for the Pittsburgh jiu-jitsu community to put on a good show and show everybody that Pittsburgh has a lot of jiu-jitsu talent here and most definitely want [Fight To Win] and other big events to come here more often… nothing ever comes to the Pittsburgh area. Most importantly, I want to win. I want submission of the night.

Arreola won't be alone during his F2W Pro debut --- his coach, Lou Armezzani (who was part of the co-main event at F2W Pro 41), and several of his teammates will also be competing on the card. Given all that Arreola has been through with them by his side, it's only fitting that they'd be standing with him at such an important event.

"I have met so many great, positive people through martial arts and jiu-jitsu, and some happen to be really good friends of mine, which is really great because I don't have any family or anything out here," Arreola said.

F2W Pro 42 won't be the last time you'll see Arreola giving his all in a competition setting, either. He has every intention of being an IBJJF world champion, and he's going to do it by continuing on the path he's constructed by training hard, competing as much as possible, and staying positive.

"Everything else, I believe, will fall into place," he said.

For those who are going through a tough time and are thinking about quitting jiu-jitsu to cope with it all, Arreola's advice is simple: don't.

"Continue training as much as you can," he said. "And if you have to reach out to anybody in your gym, I'm sure anybody would be willing to help out as much as they can." 

How to Watch Fight To Win Pro 42

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