Ryan Aitken

Ryan Aitken is a professional grappler and a Jiu-Jitsu black belt Sean Applegate and represented the 10th Planet (Atlanta branch) for most of his competitive career, particularly at the pro level. Aitken made waves in the No-Gi ruleset (also known as Submission-Grappling) by winning several important events of this circuit such as ADCC Open tournaments, the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI), and the Submission Only Series. He is also a former Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athlete and an Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championship veteran.

Ryan Aitken Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Ryan Christopher Aitken

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Hélio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > JJ Machado > Eddie Bravo > Sean Applegate > Ryan Aitken

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place Eddie Bravo Invitational 21 (2024*)
• 1st Place Main Character Invitational 185 lbs. (2023)
• 1st Place ADCC Chicago Open (2023)
• 1st Place ADCC Arizona Open (2023)
• 1st Place Submission Only Series VIII (2022)
• 2nd Place ADCC Denver Open (2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF New Orleans Open (2020 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Miami Winter Open (2019 brown)

Other:

• 1st Place EBI Combat Jiu-Jitsu Tournament 185 lbs (2023)

Favorite Position/Technique: Footlocks

Weight Division: 88 kg / 194 lbs

Team/Association: 10th Planet

Ryan Aitken Biography

Ryan Aitken was born on October 12, 1993, in Marietta, Georgia, USA, and grew up in neighboring Cobb County.

During middle school, Ryan played Lacrosse, but after becoming a victim of bullying in his mid-teens, he became interested in martial arts. Influenced by the movie Never Back Down and K1/MMA fighter Mirco “Crocop”, Aitken decided to join a local MMA club that offered Kickboxing classes. Although striking was his initial goal, he was convinced by the gym owner to try Jiu-Jitsu which quickly became his favorite activity.

Ryan was 15 when he started training jiu-jitsu under Eddie Camden. Once he graduated high school, Aitken decided to pursue a career in MMA, switching to the Striker Fight Center where he trained under Omar Lira and Juan Guevara, who promoted the young Georgia native to his purple belt.

After 4 cage fights and a tough title match loss in the Conflict Promotion (South Carolina), Aitken shifted his focus to the IBJJF gi circuit and joined Leo Nogueira‘s Alliance – Atlanta gym, where he got to experience competition at an international level.

After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the tournament scene in North America, Ryan started looking more fondly onto the no-gi circuit, where competition was quicker to re-start. To focus on this new branch of jiu-jitsu, Ryan joined Sean Applegate’s 10th Planet Academy. Aitken arrived as a brown belt and it took him 3 years to reach his black belt from Applegate, a promotion that took place on December 18, 2022.