PGF Season 5: THE ROCK TROLL Maximus Jolly!!!

Some Professional Grappling Federation fans call him “Maximus Prime.” Most know him as “The Rock Troll.” But every competitor this season will have to recognize Maximus Jolly for what he really is…a serious contender. Before the season starts, let’s look back at how PGF fans got to know Maximus, his intentions for this season, and explore a little of his martial arts journey.

Maximus first impressed as a buzz saw at the Season 4 Chattanooga qualifier. His “grip it and rip it” mentality led him to submitting all his opponents, even when they should have been in safe positions. But another thing stood out about Maximus: his smile. PGF commentator Lindsey Mccaghren pointed out his ever-present half-smile looked made him look a little like the Rock Trolls from the movie Frozen. Even after that impressive performance, Maximus didn’t have a lot of footage on the internet for the PGF coaches to analyze. He proved to be the steal of the draft, taken by Coach Sean Applegate in the fourth round. Maximus’s killer instinct made a huge impact, leading him to take fifth place in the regular season, eventually falling in the semifinals of the post-season tournament.

PGF Season 5 will be at 185lb, about 20% heavier than Season 4’s 155lb limit. Some fans have questioned whether the smaller Season 4 competitors would return for Season 5 with this large increase in size. The Rock Troll was undeterred. Maximus decided to take his shot at the Decatur qualifier. Given that 10th Planet Decatur is essentially PGF Headquarters, that’s a bold move. Nevertheless, just like last season, the Rock Troll won his qualifier, securing each victory with submissions. Maximus posits he can take advantage of his greater speed and stamina, being a smaller grappler. Moreover, he says his opponents will find his shorter limbs harder to control. At the same time, the Rock Troll knows he can’t allow someone who cut down to 185 lb. but walks around at 200+ lb. to smash him. Maximus has not shortage of confidence for this season which he put on display in his interview with the PGF Insiders on the McDojo Show. The Rock Troll knows that Handsome Kevin Sherrill has already laid claim to the PGF Season 5 belt; however, the Rock Troll said he’s going to take that belt away from Handsome Kevin, along with that Handsome Daddy Belt he won during the PGF Season 4 finale.

Now that we know how the Rock Troll became a fixture in the PGF and his plans for this upcoming season, let’s take a look at how the Rock Troll started his martial arts journey. First, one should be careful to remember when not talking about the PGF, Maximus prefers his “Maximus Prime” moniker.

Maximus Prime started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Sarasota, Florida when he was 12. Like the beginning of so many other martial arts journeys there was a bullying involved. Soon, Maximus switched to Gracie Tampa Bay. He trained under an innumerable amount of coaches during this period. He was home schooled, allowing him to attend morning and evening bjj/judo classes at multiple schools in the area. Still, Gracie Tampa was his home base.  His first coach and mentor was David Cainas, a bjj black belt under Rob Kahn and also a Judo black belt. Rob Kahn is one of Royce Gracie’s first black belts and built the Gracie Tampa Network. Cainas taught judo and kids bjj. Besides Cainas’ classes, Maximus mostly attended adult bjj classes taught by Rob Kahn himself, Broc Hooten, Matt Arroyo,  Ben Zapata, Luis Mata and others. Initially, he trained with Cris Rodriguez and Dan Martinez for kids/teens bjj. 

After Tampa, Maximus moved with his family to Salem, Oregon. It’s about one hour South of Portland. While in Oregon, the Rock Troll continued his training. He studied under James Puopolo at Salem-Keizer BJJ. Professor Puopolo was the 2013 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds champion. He is also an Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) tournament veteran. Puopolo earned his black under Raphael Lovato Jr. He trained Maximus for a year.

Finally, Maximus and his family moved to Tennessee where they now reside. Maximus now trains at Upper Cumberland MMA/10th Planet Cookeville. He’s studied there for a little more than two years. His main instructors are Michael Bartlett, a black belt under Brandon Mccaghren, and Jonathan Robbins, a brown belt. Between winning the Chattanooga Qualifier for Season 4 and the regular season, Maximus received his purple belt from Coach Bartlett.

Having recently turned 21, the Rock Troll has been training consistently for more than eight years. He’s not only cross-trained in one geographic area; he’s naturally cross-trained throughout the United States. Besides his constant training in jiu jitsu, Maximus and his family live on a homestead in the Tennessee countryside. As part of his daily chores and the normal operations of the homestead, the Rock Troll gets country strong. Just imagine a little Rocky IV montage with Rocky running in the wild and strength training with farming implements. Maximus would probably argue he’s not getting Rocky strong; he’s getting Rock Troll strong.

The Rock Troll has put all his potential PGF competitors on notice: he’s coming for that championship belt. With his varied training background, youthful vigor, and Rock Troll training, the fans can expect to see Maximus Jolly having the time of his life during PGF Season 5. Rest assured, he’s almost guaranteed to have that half smile on his face as he’s finding ways to turn his opponent’s legs into “rotisserie chicken” as he would put it. In the eyes of the Eggheadwarrior.com editorial board, The Rock Troll could be a dark horse bet to do exactly what he says – win it all.

The PGF Insiders will always work to provide the latest and greatest information regarding the PGF and you can see their weekly podcasts on the McDojo Life YouTube Channel or Brandon Mccaghren’s channel (if a member). If you’d like to see the PGF Insider interview with Maximus “The Rock Troll” Jolly that provided most of this content, you can view it HERE or you can download podcast from ITunes, Podbean, Spotify, and other podcast outlets. Special thanks to Walo Jay for all the great photos. Those interested in Walo’s work can check out his YouTube page and Walo’s website.