Erik "Compella" Cruz

was born in the Bronx, New York City and raised in Los Angeles where he was relocated at age 12. At age 15 he found a boxing/kickboxing academy run by the world famous Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and began learning striking techniques. He later met Muay Thai champion Chris Reilly at the Muay Thai Academy in North Hollywood, CA who introduced him to the Bomb Squad gym in Hollywood, CA featuring 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu with Jean Jacques BJJ black belt Eddie “The Twister” Bravo.

Over 13 years later, Erik is now a 1st degree 10th planet black belt under Eddie Bravo. Having earned a CAMMO record of 3-1(all wins via first round submission), Erik is no stranger to utilizing jiu-jitsu in an MMA environment. His approach to jiu-jitsu emphasizes a well-balanced, yet guard-ready game to prepare for worse case scenario situations that occur during a MMA or self-defense encounter. By nullifying your opponents attacks and counter attacking with submissions you can control the pace and ultimately the ending of a fight with the proper sequence of techniques. Erik was the founder and head instructor of 10th Planet Sylmar from 2008-2010.

He has taught at several notable martial arts academies including: 10th Planet HQ, 10th Planet Van Nuys, 10th Planet Burbank, The Academy (Rigan Machado), Mejiro’s LA, House of Champions, Grabaka Gym (Tokyo, Japan), Endure BJJ (Yakota Air Force Base, Japan) and 10PJJ Amsterdam. Erik recently sponsored the opening of 10th Planet Geneva, Switzerland in June of 2017. Erik has been doing commentary for the Eddie Bravo Invitational since EBI 1 and continues to do so on UFC Fight Pass and PPV.