XXI Century

About

For over three decades, Benny Voyles has built fighters for the ring and for life.

  • 1,000+People Trained
  • 30+Years Training & Coaching
  • 90%+Coaching Record
  • 17+Years of Coaching
Benny Voyles wrapping a fighter's hands before a bout

Owner • Head Coach

Benny Voyles

Benny began coaching as a teenager and has spent decades developing fighters and students across kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, MMA and martial arts. He competed professionally himself and went on to build a coaching career that has taken athletes from small-town Missouri to some of the largest stages in combat sports.

But competition is only part of what he teaches. For Benny, training is about discipline, resilience and preparing people to handle what life puts in front of them.

“When it’s time to get serious, come see me.”

From Pacific to the biggest stages.

Dalton Voyles with his arm raised by the referee after a wrestling match

Dalton Voyles

Missouri State Champion • NCAA Division I Wrestler

  • 2015 Missouri Class 3 State Champion at 182 lbs.
  • Missouri Class 3 Senior Wrestler of the Year
  • Finished high school 155–37
  • Went 54–2 as a senior
  • Wrestled collegiately for the University of Missouri

A Missouri Class 3 State Champion and NCAA Division I wrestler, Dalton Voyles built an elite competitive record through discipline, technical control, and relentless consistency. He finished his high school career 155–37, including an exceptional 54–2 senior season, before continuing his wrestling career at the University of Missouri.

Built on the mat. Proven under pressure.

Justin Lawrence raising both arms at a UFC weigh-in

Justin “The American Kidd” Lawrence

UFC • Bellator • Strikeforce • RFA

  • UFC veteran and The Ultimate Fighter: Live competitor
  • RFA Featherweight Champion
  • Six-time IKF National Kickboxing Champion
  • Two-time Pan-American Kickboxing Champion
  • Two-time St. Louis Golden Gloves Champion
  • More than 150 amateur kickboxing bouts before his UFC career

UFC's own profile says Lawrence began training combat sports at six under Benny Voyles, and Lawrence credited Voyles as his longtime head coach. UFC also documented Lawrence winning both Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night in his UFC debut.

His later professional career included Bellator, and his official record was 11–5 with five KO/TKO victories.

Rebecca Ruth flexing at a Bellator weigh-in

Rebecca “Ruthless” Ruth

Bellator MMA • Professional Flyweight

  • Professional MMA record: 6–3
  • 5 of 6 victories by KO/TKO
  • Bellator competitor
  • Shamrock FC competitor
  • Publicly listed with 21st Century MMA

Sherdog lists Ruth's association as 21st Century MMA, while ESPN documents her Bellator career and 6–3 professional record.

In an interview during her rise toward Bellator, Ruth directly credited Benny's coaching and technique:

“He is definitely a world-class coach.”

— Rebecca Ruth, Bellator veteran

“We’re not fighting each other. We’re fighting life.”

Not everyone who walks through the doors is training to become a fighter. For more than three decades, XXI Century has helped people build discipline, confidence, resilience, and direction. Training more than 1,000 people and helping young students carry those lessons far beyond the gym.

  1. AAccountability
  2. BBravery
  3. CConfidence
  4. DDiscipline
  5. EEmpowerment
  6. FFortitude
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Some people leave a legacy bigger than the gym.

Scott “Scotty” Wirtz smiling on a seaside cliff

Among those who trained here

Scott “Scotty” Wirtz

Scott “Scotty” Wirtz was more than a highly accomplished U.S. Navy SEAL; he was part of the XXI Century family, training here for years before carrying that same discipline, courage, and commitment into a life of service. His legacy is a reminder that the strength built through training reaches far beyond competition and can shape how we face the hardest fights life puts in front of us.

Where it all began. Built from the ground up.

  1. 1990s

    Benny began fighting and coaching at a young age, building his experience through competition while developing the teaching style and mentality that would eventually define XXI Century.

    Boxing ring inside the training gym

  2. THE DRIVEWAY

    Before there was a dedicated gym, there was a driveway with carpet laid over gravel. It wasn't polished or comfortable, it was simply a place to train, improve, and keep moving forward with whatever was available.

    Red-framed gate across a backyard driveway

  3. XXI CENTURY

    What began informally grew into XXI Century Fight Team: a permanent place where striking, grappling, wrestling, and martial arts could be taught under one philosophy, serious training with a purpose beyond competition.

    The XXI Century gym building and sign

  4. TODAY

    More than three decades later, over 1,000 people have trained under Benny, from first-time students and young people looking for direction to state champions and professional fighters competing on major stages.

    The XXI Century Fight Team gathered in the gym

This is more than a job.

For Benny, coaching isn't a career he happened to choose. It's something he believes he was called to do: to use what he's learned to develop fighters, guide young people and help others become stronger than when they walked through the door.

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The XXI Mindset

  1. If I fall, I will get up.
  2. I will never stop getting better.
  3. I am not shackled by fear, insecurity or doubt.
  4. I will sacrifice.
  5. I will fight against the odds.
  6. I am willing to do the things you are not.
  7. That is why I succeed.
  8. I am an XXI fighter.
A fighter celebrating in the cage with his coaches

“When it's time to get serious, come see me.”

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(636) 271-7006