Joe Baize is an American grappler, former mixed martial arts fighter and a black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu, who also earned a level 5 certification (instructor) in Hayastan under Gokor Chivichyan. Baize is widely regarded as a pioneer in using lower limb joint lock submissions in the sport of sub-only (submission wrestling) and no-gi jiu-jitsu. During his evolution as a coach and athlete, Joe Baize worked with a number of prestigious coaches such as Josh Johnson, Luiz Palhares, Roli Delgado, Max Bishop, Erik Paulson, Josh Hayden, Tom DeBlass, Warren Brooks and Gokor Chivichyan.
Joe Baize Jiu-Jitsu
Full Name: Joseph Baize
Nickname: Joey or Joe.
Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Luiz Palhares > Josh Johnson > Joe Baize
Main Achievements:
- Copa America Superfight Winner (2016)
- 1st Place ADCC, USA East Coast Trials (2010)
- 1st Place HookNshoot Pro World champion (2008)
- 1st Place Hayastan Grappling Challenge, Kentucky (2009*)
- 1st Place Hayastan Grappling Challenge, New York (2009*)
- 1st Place Hayastan Grappling Challenge, N. Carolina (2009*)
- 2nd Place ADCC, USA East Coast Trials (2012)
Favorite Position/Technique: Straight Ankle Lock
Weight Division: Super Pesado (100,50 kg / 222.0 lbs)
Team/Association: Ocean County BJJ
Joe Baize Biography
Joe Baize was born on June 8, 1983, in Beaver Dam, a city located in Ohio County, Kentucky, in the United States of America, where he grew up.
Joe adopted the martial arts lifestyle when he was 8 years old, with taekwondo being then his discipline of choice. Baize’s training was irregular during this initial 4 year period, but by the time he saw his first Ultimate Fighting Championship, aged 11, particularly Royce Gracie’s fight with Ken Shamrock (UFC1), he became convinced the Korean art of kicking was not what he was looking for, steering towards grappling.
His newfound love for jiu-jitsu led Joe down a rabbit hole, discovering this combat style by himself, through martial arts magazines and watching no-holds-barred fights. It was only at the age of 15 that Baize found a school where he was able to finally get structured tuition, that gym was Louisville Pankration, and the coach was Jason Keaton – a two-hour drive from Baize.
During his school days, Baize became an avid American football player, playing varsity football at Ohio County High School for all four years of his time there. During that time Joe added powerlifting to his routine, a sport in which he was equally successful, breaking a few “meets records”.
One year into his training Baize came across a poster for a local MMA event called Hook’N Shoot. On that promotion’s line up was a fighter by the name of Warren Brooks from Owensboro, Kentucky, only a half-hour drive from Beaver Dam. Joe contacted the athlete and the two became training partners and would later form the Nice Guy Submission Fighting school, one of the most respected grappling gyms in the region today.
From that aforementioned first encounter with cage-fighting at the age of 11, Baize hoped to one day make his professional MMA debut. That day came through just 3 months after Joe’s 17th birthday, at the Hook’N Shoot promotion. The start of a career that would span across 8 years, which he ended with a 100% submission victory record.
Throughout Baize’s grappling education, the young American had a variety of instructors in different styles such as Hayastan, Catch-Wrestling, Judo and BJJ, the majority of the latter being supervised by Josh Johnson (Luiz Palhares Association), who graduated Joe with his jiu-jitsu black belt in 2011.
One of the skills for which Joe is most known for is lower limb submissions, something he learned straight from the source – the legendary Gokor Chivichyan, with whom Baize received a level 5 in the combat style of Hayastan.
After years of representing the Nice Guy Submission Fighting affiliation, during 2018 Baize switched camps, on to Josh Hayden’s – Owensboro Gracie, a gym which is supervised by another well-known figure in jiu-jitsu, Mr. Tom DeBlass. This connection with the New Jersey black belt was solidified during the following months, with Baize later joining DeBlass’s own association by the end of 2019.
Joe Baize vs Eric Jordan
