Bold-Erdene Odsuren is a retired international judo player for Mongolia, as well as a folkstyle wrestler (Falcon title) and the first Mongolian to achieve the rank of black belt in jiu-jitsu, a promotion undertaken by Alex Paz, although Odsuren also worked extensively in this grappling style with coaches David Clahan and Eduardo Fraga. In 2007 Bold-Erdene Odsuren founded the Mongolian Jiu-Jitsu Association, with which he helped spread this ruleset in his home country.
Bold-Erdene Odsuren Jiu-Jitsu
Full Name: Bold-Erdene Odsuren
Nickname: N/A
Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Murilo Bustamante/Ricardo Libório > Alex Paz > B. Odsuren
Main Achievements (Adult):
- 1st Place IBJJF Asian Open (2012 purple)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2010 blue)
- 3rd Place ADCC Asian Trials (2013)
Main Achievements (Masters):
- 1st Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2015 brown M1)
- 1st Place IBJJF Masters World Championship (2013 purple M1)
- 1st Place IBJJF Asian Open (2014 brown M1)
- 3rd Place ADCC Asian Trials (2013)
Main Achievements (Judo):
- 1st Place IJF Judo Masters World Championship (USA, Miami, 2012)
- 2nd Place JUA Eastern Asian championship (MGL, Ulan Bator 2006)
- 2nd Place IJF Vladimir Gulidov Memorial (RUS, Krasnoyarsk 2008)
- 2nd Place IJF Mongolian National Championships (MGL, Ulaanbaatar 2009,2010, 2011)
- 3rd Place IJF Mongolian National Championships (MGL, Ulaanbaatar 2002)
- 3rd Place Chinggis Khan Grand Prix (MGL, Ulaanbaatar 2009)
Favorite Position/Technique: Osotogari, Pressure Passing
Weight Division: Meio Pesado (88,30 kg / 195.0 lbs)
Team/Association: Mongolian BJJ
Bold-Erdene Odsuren Biography
Bold-Erdene Odsuren was born on February 15, 1981, in the Dornogobi province of Mongolia.
Born from a nomad family and growing up in the Steppe region, one of Bold-Erdene greatest threats while growing up was the extreme climate experienced there, particularly as Odsuren spent his early life hedging livestock.
An adventurous spirit from an early age, Odsuren also picked up his family’s traditional Mongolian wrestling roots, a sport he started playing at the age of 10. As a Mongolian folkstyle wrestler, Bold-Erdene Odsuren reached the title of “Falcon”, a term that resembles that of the All-American D1 wrestler in the United States collegiate circuit.
At the age of 14, Odsuren added judo to his sporting activities, going on to earn his black belt in the Japanese style of combat at the age of 20, while being very successful on the national and International Judo Federation (IJF) circuit.
One of Bold-Erdene Odsuren’s stronger points as a judoka was his newaza (ground-work), something the Mongolian competitor always enjoyed throughout his career. During the mid-2000s, Odsuren heard of jiu-jitsu for the first time and was immediately fascinated by the level of detail he saw in the BJJ ground game. At the time Bold-Erdene was competing in many different grappling disciplines, between wrestling, Kazakh Kurash, belt wrestling, sambo, and judo, so he decided to try the submission game also.
His quest for learning jiu-jitsu drove the Mongolian athlete to the Ralph Gracie Academy in Berkley, California, where he found coaches David Clahan and Eduardo Fraga. These two promoted Bold-Erdene all the way to brown belt. Clahan and Fraga also started traveling to Mongolia on occasion to spread jiu-jitsu there to the students of Bold-Erdene.
In 2007 Bold-Erdene Odsuren founded the Mongolian BJJ Federation, with the intent of organizing a few tournaments under jiu-jitsu rules. These events started to attract local judo and sambo athletes who felt a great affinity with the ruleset. The popularity of these events led Odsuren to establish a partnership with the United Arab Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) who helped to promote and expand the local circuit to a more constant influx of tournaments.
The close relationship with the UAEJJF meant Bold-Erdene Odsuren started spending more time in the Arab Emirates, taking rules courses, and learning more about tournament logistics. The close proximity with the UAE led him to train regularly with Alex Paz, one of the main figures of the local federation’s refereeing body and a very accomplished grappler during his heyday. It was Paz who promoted Odsuren to black belt midway through 2015.
