The road is so dark at night driving down Route 615 in Sayreville past the traffic light at Jernee Mill Road that it is hard to distinguish among the warehouses along the way. A red and blue neon sign stands out with just six letters: MMA/BJJ.

MMA stands for mixed martial arts, a fusion of striking sports, such as boxing, kickboxing and karate, with the grappling of wrestling, judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu (or BJJ). The sign has been a beacon for nearly 100 warriors inspired by the country’s fastest-growing sport. They have been flocking to the two-month-old Strategic Combat Academy because of its superior equipment and top-notch training.

“I came by because I saw the sign,” said Sam Burkhardt, a 20-year-old from Old Bridge. “Now I’m here six days a week, three hours a day.”

Inside a padded steel cage — that is square rather than the octagon shape made famous by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other MMA promotions — Burkhardt often is joined by 20 others for two- to three-minute rounds of punching, striking and conditioning in owner John Narleski’s “sick” MMA class.

A one-time state champion kickboxer, Narleski retired just before the UFC made MMA mainstream. Now he’s back training everyone from newbies, whose addiction to the sport led them into his gym, to amateur and professional fighters.

“With the all the jiu jitsu he’s been doing,” said Narleski proudly, “he should have an advantage.”

Brandon’s mom added, “This is a really safe, positive environment. I think he and all the other members are getting a lot out of it: discipline, structure, self-confidence. And I know where he is. He’s not on the street or in front of a computer. If I didn’t think it was safe, I wouldn’t let him do it.”

AT A GLANCE

STRATEGIC COMBAT ACADEMY

4450 Bordentown Road (Route 615), Unit B3 in the Gillette Warehouses, Sayreville

John Narleski and his wife, Lori Anniello-Narleski

Since Sept. 14

Eight