Less than a month after Atos black belt Michael Liera Jr. announced he was moving to Colorado to start his own academy, he’s set to face off against Denver local Phillip Lietz at Fight 2 Win 130. 

We caught up with Liera to talk about his new venture, Lefty Jiu Jitsu, which he will be launching with the help of his friend and fellow Atos black belt YJ Lee. With an ambitious two-month deadline before his grand opening, he’s taking a moment to do what he does best: showcase his jiu-jitsu on the main stage.  

FloGrappling: We haven’t seen much of you on the competition circuit lately, what have you been up to? 

Michael Liera Jr.: I competed a lot earlier this year. I had five tournaments back-to-back: the San Diego Spring Open, Denver Open, Worlds, F2W 115 and American Nationals. I went into it knowing I was going to open my academy in the next year. After American Nationals, I took time off so that I could focus on getting everything ready and making the move as seamless as possible. 

FG: Opening your own academy is a big step… how do you feel about it? 

ML: I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life, so this is a first for me in many ways. I’ve traveled a bunch, but it’s different when you’re there to stay. Once I made the decision, my motivation was rejuvenated. My reasons to compete have changed also. I’m competing not just for myself, but for my team and my future academy as well. 

FG: Why Denver? A name like yours, you could have gone anywhere. 

ML: When I decided that I wanted to open, I was teaching every morning at Atos HQ, multiple classes every morning and at night, too. At first, the choices seemed overwhelming; I could be anywhere but San Diego. So, I asked myself, “Where could I see myself living happily?” That narrowed it down to Austin, Salt Lake City, and Denver. In my mind, Denver was the superior choice. 

FG: Why now? 

ML: It was a really tough decision to make. The position I had at Atos was probably the most coveted position in jiu-jitsu: I was Professor Galvao’s right-hand instructor, training for free, my family lived less than a mile away, my jiu-jitsu is the best it has ever been. The only thing holding me back was that last drive, that bit of grit you need to achieve your dreams. I couldn’t get that from the comfort of my position. Over the past two years, I planned on leaving and starting my own academy after Worlds 2020, but something inside me told me I had to take the jump this year. So, I set out on my own and I’m going to see where this takes me. 

FG: Where have you been training since then? 

ML: Since I arrived, I’ve been training at Amal Easton’s academies. He’s built a kind of an empire up here. There are regularly at least five black belts on the mat and sometimes 12. I’m definitely grateful to Amal and all of his students for helping me train. 

FG: And this weekend you’ll be at Fight 2 Win Pro 130… tell me about it. 

ML: I’m fighting a local guy named Phil Leitz. I’ve seen him on the IBJJF circuit and I know he’s really tough. We’d never fought before but I saw him at Denver Open and he fought my teammate Dominique Bell. When Seth asked me, I didn’t have any competitions lined up, I was already training really hard, trying to soak up the last vibes from San Diego, and had already planned on moving out to Denver. So, it worked out. My only request was that he didn’t match me up with one of Amal’s guys, because they’ve welcomed me in and have been helping me train these past couple weeks. 

Fight 2 Win 130 takes place on Saturday, November 2. Catch it all on FloGrappling.