LAS VEGAS -- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and New Evolution Fitness Co. (NEFC) announced Wednesday that the first UFC Gym, a concept that combines mixed martial arts and fitness, will be operated in Concord, CA.

NEFC co-founders Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley, both from the East Bay in Northern California, wanted the first UFC Gym to be close to their homes.

“This facility will allow us to carefully monitor and fine-tune the UFC Gym concept for future growth and provide our community with fitness training in new dynamic ways,” Mastrov said in a statement.

The first UFC Gym enrollment center is set to open next Wednesday at a shopping center in Concord. The gym is expected to open in the fall.

“We are excited to open our first UFC Gym,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement. “It’s going to have something for everyone in the family, from traditional mixed martial arts classes to all-around fitness classes, personal training and a gym just for kids.”

Earlier this year, UFC and NEFC announced a partnership with UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre and UFC lightweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn to build UFC Gyms bearing their names. The St-Pierre gym will be in his native Montreal and Penn’s gym will be in his home state of Hawaii.

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