UFC Gym Opening in New Hyde Park Tuesday

The Ultimate Fighter Championship (UFC) gym in New Hyde Park will be opening fully for workouts on Tuesday this week.

The date for opening had been pushed back several times, first scheduled for late spring, then summer due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy according to gym general manager Jason Figorski during a new member expo this past Saturday.

Figorski said that the reason for the delay was also so that the gym could “spend the time” talking and educating the community about the facility, which is housed in the old King Kullen location on Jericho Turnpike at the intersection of Leonard Boulevard.

“That takes time and that’s why we started early here,” he said.

The gym takes up the entire 40,00 sq. ft. of the old King Kullen supermarket, which had moved last year to the Garden City Park shopping center to take over the location previously occupied by Pathmark.

Saturday’s new member expo was held for those members who had pre-registered “for us to do tours, demos, to try and give the community a better understanding of what UFC gym is all about,” Figorski said, describing the facility as a “family gym” rather than the mixed-martial-arts style of fighting for which the UFC brand has become known.

“Your automatic feeling is that we are a fight gym but once you walk in and you get the better understanding of what UFC gym’s all about, you can see and feel the family atmosphere.”

The gym does offer mixed martial arts classes as well as youth programs including MMA for kids and grappling classes for those ages three to 13. Members and their families are also invited to “fight night” where they can watch the pay per view bouts on TV and children can participate in various activities. Membership ranges from $50 per month to $109 for unlimited access and there are no contracts. Some of the packages includes what Figorski describes as a “daily ultimate training” or DUT involving high-intensity cardio workout and also TRX suspension training.

“We train different here,” Figorski said. “You have the ability to train like a fighter to get the results of a fighter without actually fighting.”

One-on-one coaching is offered for all new members as well as for MMA or functional training.

“We cover every area,” Figorski said. “Our members come here to train, not work out.”

The gym is also going to be open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, a notion that has neighborhood residents concerned with such an operation.

“Not everyone can work out at five o’clock after work,” Figorski said. “You have your night shift, you have your people who aren’t able to go and work out at your regular facility because of the hours.”

Figorski said that they gym has about 2,500 members signed up already, including members of the New Hyde Park, Garden City Park Fire Departments and the Nassau County Police.

“Them and the community, they’ve kind of helped us spread the word and let everyone know that this is a different type of gym and they’re going to be here training,” he said.

Get New Hyde Park news on Facebook