Armando Enrique was born in Puerto Rico. He grew up playing sports, mainly baseball. His first exposure to martial arts as a youngster was through the sport of boxing, watching the likes of Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto. At the age of 12, he discovered the sport of MMA by watching the first UFC events in VHS tapes. After seeing Royce Gracie beat opponents utilizing the art of Jiu Jitsu, he became even more interested in martial arts. Since that day, he has not stopped following martial arts.

Shortly after he moved to the United States, he started practicing boxing in 2010 at King’s Boxing Gym in Cleveland, OH. He wanted to learn how to defend himself from the standup position but with the vision of transitioning to Jiu Jitsu after a few years. He competed as an amateur boxer three times before transitioning to Jiu Jitsu in 2013. He trained Jiu Jitsu at Rio Pro Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Cleveland, OH. He competed several times in tournaments in the region. In 2020, he moved to Denver, CO and started training at Way of Jiu Jitsu. He was awarded his black belt in December 2023.

Armando Enrique is very passionate about martial arts and enjoys practicing and learning other arts. He currently practice the arts of Muay Thai and Judo as well. He is also a MMA official for the states of CO, WY, CA, NE, KS, and MT. He mainly works as a referee and judge in the sports of MMA, Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu.

“Jiu Jitsu has been such an integral part in my life. It has improved every aspect of my life, has instilled more disciplined in me, created consistency to achieve personal goals, and given me tools to solve problems more efficiently. It has also made me a healthier person, both physically and mentally. I am very fortunate to share this journey with great professors, instructors, training partners, and my brother in law. I have made so many friendships that will last forever. One of my goals is to teach the new generation of practitioners the art of Jiu Jitsu with the same values that have been passed down to me. I want to be a positive influence to everyone I train with and teach to.”

Interests outside of martial arts include: family, traveling to learn about different countries and cultures, sports, outdoors, good food, and desserts.