Chris Brennan competed on mixed martial arts' highest stage in 1998, taking part in two bouts in the same evening at a UFC event. Not long after that, he founded Next Generation MMA, which has grown from a gym in Orange County, California, to six locations worldwide. At the Frisco location, Brennan and other experienced instructors such as Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kendall Cross instill discipline, respect, and self-defense moves to children and adults at their 24-hour-access fitness center—one of the few 24-hour martial-arts centers around. Each of their martial-arts or martial-arts-inspired fitness classes offers an excellent workout, where members kick, jab, and punch bags and the air and learn to block attacks while building muscle and burning fat on Next Generation’s padded floor.