Gavin Urias, The General of Elite Edge MMA
Ankeny's Gavin "The General" Urias on quitting his job, coaching open mats and the gym badge he is proud to wear.
Gavin Urias does not hedge when he talks about how far in he is. "I quit my full-time job to pursue this," he told MMA Futures. The amateur fighting out of Elite Edge MMA in Ankeny, Iowa, carries a 4-4 record in amateur MMA and 5-1 in amateur Muay Thai and kickboxing, and he describes himself as an unorthodox wrestler who also trains at Nexus Fighting Systems.
From a video game to a garage
Urias grew up in Newton, Iowa, and now lives in Des Moines. His way into the sport started small. He told MMA Futures that he got the UFC 3 video game in high school, and one night the idea simply landed: he wanted to do this for real.
That led him to a garage group in Baxter, Iowa, where he did his first MMA training before eventually finding his way to Elite Edge. These days he balances fighting with coaching and bar work, which is part of why he talks about the grind with so little drama.
"I think going through this struggle that I'm going through right now is going to give me the push to really start making some money in this and get some eyes on me," he said.
Why the badge matters
At Elite Edge, Urias trains under Josh Neer, and he takes real pride in what the gym has produced over the years.
"For me, I think it represents a legacy of very good fighters. We've had a lot of fighters go to the UFC and make very high level competition. And I'm just glad that I can represent that badge," he said.
He credits the room's standards for pushing him forward. Talking about the coaching he gets there, he put it simply: "He trains us hard and he has really high expectations and I think that has brought out the best in me."
Where The General came from
The nickname did not come from a marketing meeting, though Urias has said one promoter did want him to have one. It came from teammate James Went, who started calling him The General because Urias coaches classes and leads open mats. It is a fitting name for someone who spends as much time running the room as training in it.
That role shapes how he carries himself. In an October 2026 interview with MMA Futures, he summed up his approach to the cage in three words:
"Embrace the chaos."
A year of growth
Urias has been open about how much his game has changed recently. He told MMA Futures that Johnny Case has evolved both his striking and his mentality, and that Case has really changed the way he thinks about things.
He also spent 10 days training at Extreme Couture in Las Vegas, a trip organized by Case, Caden Van Meer and Justice Hefley and funded by his sponsors. For a fighter who walked away from a steady paycheck, that kind of backing meant a lot.
Asked to describe where he is now, Urias did not reach for anything complicated. "This version of me is the best version of me that's ever stepped in that cage," he said.
Looking ahead
Urias has talked about wanting to turn pro, and he is clear that he sees his work ethic as the thing that will carry him there. He has also never been shy about putting on a show for the people watching.
"It's always gonna look good when I'm in the cage," he said.
Fans can follow Urias and see his full record on his AFC roster page.