Acclimating to the US after being born in a foreign land, Romie found a great new hobby in many different sports.  At the top of the list was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

His love of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu very quickly led to Mixed Martial Arts, where he started Millennia Jiu-Jitsu with a few friends.  He very quickly turned his school into one of the most successful schools in the area.  He has recently became semi-retired, and is doing more of the training of his next generation of Millennia fighters.

Born in Afghanistan, Aram remembers little regarding the Soviet Union invasion of the land of his birth. Along with his father, mother, brother and sister, he made the voyage to the United States as a four-year-old child. The Aram's settled in California, thousands of miles away from a war-torn Middle East and free from the fighting that would plague Afghanistan for the next several years.

A young Aram acclimated to the U.S. through sports.  A new hobby surfaced upon graduation, though, as he discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In a mere two and a half years, he earned his purple belt. "Jiu-Jitsu came pretty natural to me," he explained of his swift progress. "I always picked things up pretty quick."

His development continued and further avenues soon emerged. While working out at a gym called Alternative Fighting, Aram formed a relationship with former Carvalho student John Jensen and talented grappler Javier Vazquez. He and Jensen decided to launch their own school, Millennia Jiu-Jitsu.  Aram extended an invitation for Javier to partner with he and John at Millennia. Vazquez accepted the offer and Millennia's foundation solidified.

Now, about four years later, Millennia has grown into a fight factory that is vital to Aram's success. The school boasts nearly 70 students, around many of them active fighters. "It's very competitive," Aram described of the school's atmosphere. "Everybody's trying to tap each other out, but at the same time, everybody is cool with each other. It's a really good group of guys. Everybody has good attitudes, and they train hard."

With that many ready-for-action mixed martial artists in one room, there's simply nowhere to hide and, consequently, no way to enter a fight unprepared.

Aram's takedowns have been an unstoppable ace in the hole thus far, even though, surprisingly, he didn't wrestle growing up. Instead, he picked it up after competing in Jiu-Jitsu competitions and realizing that he was at a disadvantage against wrestlers who were consistently taking him down. At the time, the junior college he was attending had a talented wrestling team, and Aram began showing up for open practices. Like Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling came second nature to him as he immersed himself in the sport.

Although he is predominantly a grappler, Aram has worked diligently at a multi-dimensional game. Duane Ludwig, perhaps the top striker in mixed martial arts, has played an important role in his development. "Duane really helped me out a lot," he said. "He's one of the best guys I've ever worked out with. He explains why you do what you do." Since Ludwig moved to Colorado, Aram's stand-up has been aided by the expertise of former kickboxer Pete Dickason and other strikers teaching at Millennia.

• MMA COACH
• ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF THE MILLENNIA TEAM
• 14YRS EXPERIENCE IN BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU
• BLACK BELT UNDER RODRIGO MEDIEROS (CARLSON GRACIE)
• 2 X WORLD MMA CHAMP
• FORMER WELTER WEIGHT KOTC WORLD CHAMP
• HEAD INSTRUCTOR FOR THE MILLENNIA MMA FIGHT TEAM
• PROFESSIONAL FIGHT TRAINER/ MANAGEMENT