Quick Definition
American Top Team (ATT) is a mixed martial arts gym headquartered in Coconut Creek, Florida, known for producing world champions across the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship since it was founded in 2001.
What is American Top Team?
Dan Lambert founded American Top Team in 2001, partnering with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Ricardo Liborio, Marcus “Conan” Silveira, and Marcelo Silveira to build a single facility where fighters could train every discipline of mixed martial arts under one roof. The gym started small, working out of a 1,200-square-foot space in Boca Raton focused on grappling competition.
It has since grown into a two-story, 40,000-square-foot headquarters in Coconut Creek with dozens of affiliated academies across the United States and abroad. What separates ATT from a typical gym is scale: coaches for boxing and wrestling work alongside Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors in the same building, so a fighter preparing for a title fight can build a full camp without leaving campus.
That structure has made ATT a landing spot for both homegrown prospects and established champions who relocate to Florida specifically to train there.
How American Top Team works
ATT operates less like a single gym and more like a professional organization built around its Coconut Creek headquarters. Coaches are assigned by specialty rather than by fighter. During a camp, an athlete might work with a wrestling coach in the morning and a striking coach that same afternoon, rather than sticking with one trainer for everything.
Professional fighters who sign with ATT historically paid around five percent of each fight purse to cover coaching, corner work, and camp logistics such as travel and pre-fight medical exams. That fee, lower than the combined management and training cuts some camps charge, has been credited with drawing fighters to South Florida from elsewhere in the country and abroad.
Outside the pro team, dozens of independently owned ATT-affiliated academies run their own membership classes in MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, along with Muay Thai and kickboxing, under the ATT name. The flagship Coconut Creek facility itself does not offer classes to the general public.
American Top Team vs. Brazilian Top Team
The similar name is not a coincidence, and it is the most common point of confusion for newer fans. Brazilian Top Team formed in Rio de Janeiro in 2000, and Ricardo Liborio helped found both academies. When Liborio moved to Florida in 2001 to help Dan Lambert build a new gym, they named it American Top Team as a nod to that shared background.
Despite the overlap in founders and name, the two organizations have never had a formal business affiliation. Dan Lambert has described the relationship as closer to distant cousins than sister gyms.
| American Top Team | Brazilian Top Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Coconut Creek, Florida | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Founders | Dan Lambert, Ricardo Liborio, Conan Silveira, Marcelo Silveira | Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Liborio, Mario Sperry, Luis Roberto Duarte |
| Formal affiliation | None | None |
Fighters and champions
The gym’s roster spans nearly every major MMA promotion. As of 2026, its active UFC champions include:
| Fighter | Promotion | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Kayla Harrison | UFC | Women’s bantamweight champion |
| Alexandre Pantoja | UFC | Flyweight champion |
Alumni and past titleholders run deeper still. Former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes trained at ATT for most of her career before retiring, and Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley each won UFC gold while affiliated with the team, as did Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Johnny Eblen won both the Bellator and PFL middleweight titles while training out of ATT, before losing the belt in 2025. Dustin Poirier, a former interim UFC lightweight champion, trained at ATT for more than a decade before retiring from competition in 2025, and former welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal built much of his career there as well.
That track record is part of why ATT has won Gym of the Year at the World MMA Awards six times, with four straight titles from 2016 through 2019, then again in 2021 and 2023.
Locations and affiliates
The Coconut Creek headquarters opened in its current two-story, 40,000-square-foot building in January 2016. It operates as a training center for the professional roster rather than a public gym, so the organization directs newcomers to its affiliate network instead.
As of 2026, ATT licenses close to 30 independently owned academies across 11 U.S. states, plus international affiliates in Canada as well as Croatia and Spain. Each affiliate sets its own class schedule and pricing, though they follow the parent organization’s curriculum and branding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ATT stand for?What does ATT stand for?
ATT stands for American Top Team, the name Ricardo Liborio and Dan Lambert chose in 2001 when Liborio moved from Brazilian Top Team in Rio de Janeiro to help build a new academy in Florida.
Is American Top Team open to the public?
The Coconut Creek headquarters trains professional fighters and does not run public classes. People interested in training under the ATT name can join one of its independently owned affiliate academies located across the U.S. and abroad.
Who founded American Top Team?
Dan Lambert founded American Top Team in 2001 alongside Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Ricardo Liborio, Marcus “Conan” Silveira, and Marcelo Silveira.
Is American Top Team affiliated with Brazilian Top Team?
No. Despite sharing a founder, a similar name, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu roots, the two gyms have never had a formal business affiliation.
How many times has American Top Team won Gym of the Year?
American Top Team has won the World MMA Awards’ Gym of the Year six times, with four straight titles from 2016 through 2019, then again in 2021 and 2023.
Sources
- American Top Team. “Team History.” Accessed September 2026.
https://americantopteam.com/team-history/ - American Top Team. “ATT Facilities.” Accessed September 2026.
https://americantopteam.com/locations/att-facilities/ - Wikipedia. “American Top Team.” Accessed September 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Top_Team - UFC.com. “Kayla Harrison.” Accessed September 2026.
https://www.ufc.com/athlete/kayla-harrison - ESPN. “Kayla Harrison Stats.” Accessed September 2026.
https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/stats/_/id/4332765/kayla-harrison - LowKick MMA. “American Top Team – MMA Gym.” Accessed September 2026.
https://lowkickmma.com/american-top-team - MMASucka. “American Top Team: MMA Powerhouse History.” Accessed September 2026.
https://mmasucka.com/news/american-top-team-mma-powerhouse-history/ - Wikipedia. “The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians.” Accessed September 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Fighter:_American_Top_Team_vs._Blackzilians - LowKick MMA. “Alexandre Pantoja Claims Top Spot at ATT.” Accessed September 2026.
https://www.lowkickmma.com/alexandre-pantoja-top-spot-att/
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