Following up on our last rankings earlier this year, we present to you the July 2015 edition of our jiu jitsu sporting rankings. Much has happened in the past couple of months throughout the grappling world, including two of the sport’s main tournaments, the Brasileiro and the World Championship. The World Championship in particular had many surprises, with some of the biggest stars of the sport failing to medal. This had big repercussions to our ranking.
Beneil Dariush is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Romulo Barral, who was regarded as one of the top grappling prospects in the world before his change in career focus to mixed martial arts (MMA). A World Champion and World No Gi Champion in the lower belt divisions of BJJ, with wins over big names such as Kron Gracie, Beneil Dariush quickly climbed up the ladder of success in MMA, reaching the sport’s ultimate promotion – the UFC.
To kickstart the National Pro events created by the EmiratesJiu Jitsu Federation, “UAEJJ” organized one of the best events of the year in Rio de Janeiro’s grappling scene.. Under the watchful eye of the promotions frontman Zé Mario Sperry, we saw many big names of the “carioca” grappling scene compete for the USD $120,000 on offer, find the results here.
How long does it take to find the first female black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu? In this piece we go through the process of finding Yvone Duarte, the first women’s black belt in our sport, discovered by BJJ Heroes on November 2014, and insight to the research developed over a 4 year period.
Yago de Souza is one of the top grappling competitors of his generation as well as a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Cicero Costha. Yago earned his reputation in the lower belt divisions, where he earned the world championship, European Open, Brazilian National Championship as well as the South American Championship.
The butterfly guard, a style of guard playing made famous by grapplers such as Marcelo Garcia, Terere, Leonardo Santos or Renzo Gracie (to name a few) and one of the classic guards to play in the combat style of Brazilian jiu jitsu. On this article we go through the history and the various stages of the butterfly guard in the grappling world.
On this article, we will go through the 2015 ADCC competitors list for the 99 kg + division, as well as the numbers of past tournaments. A historic weight category in the ADCC the “above 99kg” has crowned the first non Brazilian ADCC Champion, the organization’s first sequential non-Brazilian champions (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) as well as the ADCC’s first and only African champion.
New Jersey born Tom DeBlass, is a well respected member of the grappling community both as a competitor as well as an instructor, having earned his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Ricardo Almeida and produced high level athletes from his Ocean County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy. DeBlass has also competed in MMA, with stints at the UFC and Bellator.
Antonio Passos, commonly known as Tony Passos, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Moacir “Boca” Omena and Ricardo De La Riva, although he became better known as one of the louder voices of the Atos Jiu Jitsu team, a grappling camp he joined by the end of 2011. Passos is also recognized as one of the top jiu jitsu coaches in the United States, a country he moved to in 2004.
The organization of the ADCC has signed on 3 big names for the upcoming 2015 event, which is happening in two months. They are Alexandre Ribeiro, Rodrigo Cavaca and Bruno Frazatto.
The 99 kilogram (218lbs) ADCC division has the highest number of open weight champions, with over half of the absolute division winners having originated from this weight category, it also has one of the highest submission rates in the tournament with almost 50% of matches ending with a tap. In this article you will find all about the division’s competitors (past and present) as well as the numbers of the 99kg category
The under 88kg division is home to two of the last three ADCC open weight tournament winners, historically being one of the hardest weight categories in the event, an event that will take place this year (2015) on August 2015. This biannual event that has been running since 1998 and which is regarded as the most prestigious submission wrestling tournament on the planet. On this article we will go through the details of the 88 kilogram division: the competitors list and who they are, the champions, and of course the numbers.
August 2015 will hold the 11th edition of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, also known as the ADCC, a biannual event that has been running since 1998 and which is regarded as the most prestigious submission wrestling tournament on the planet. On this article we will go through the details of the 77 kilo division: the competitors list and who they are, the champions, and of course the numbers.
2015 will hold the 11th edition of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, also known as the ADCC, a biannual event that is regarded as the most prestigious no gi jiu jisu/submission wrestling tournament on the planet. On this article we will go through the lightest division of the ADCC, the 66 kilogram (145 pound) weight category, the competitors, the champions, the numbers.
Taking place on the 2nd of August, 2015, the first edition of the FIVE Super League will be streamed to the world directly from the famous Studio 540 in Solana Beach, California, a space owned by jiu jitsu black belt Robert Zeps. It will feature 8 men and 8 women in the professional league, as well as exciting superfights with some of the sport’s top prospects. See below the competitor list of this stacked card.
Very insightful interview with Europe’s most decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, the Danish powerhouse Alexander Trans. Trans goes over the recent world championship, his future for the neighbouring ADCC as well as life of a BJJ’er in the UAE and fighting team mates.
One of the best grapplers of her generation, Luiza Monteiro is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca, who’s career in the sport is commonly associated with the Projecto Social Lutando Pelo Bem team of Cicero Costha. One of the top athletes in jiu jitsu’s women’s division, Monteiro conquered numerous medals in a variety of weight classes, from featherweight to medium heavy.
Born in New Jersey, USA, Dillon Danis is an accomplished Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Marcelo Garcia of the Alliance Academy, being part of a fruitful generation of grapplers produced by the well respected Marcelinho, from his New York based gym. Dillon Danis made a name for himself at the start of 2014 through his incredible brown belt campaign that year.
The incredible tale of three Brazilian teenagers lost in the United States, where they had travelled to, to compete at the Jiu Jitsu World Championship, and how they pulled through one of the biggest juvenile sporting upsets of the IBJJF World Champ.
It is confirmed that Rodolfo Vieira will be competing at this year’s ADCC, which will take place on August 28 – 30 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. GF Team’s former world champion has struggled with a lower back injury which has taken him out of the competitive scene since September 2014 (Brazilian Team Nationals), Rodolfo has recently stated on his Instagram account that he will be fit to compete in August, and that he has accepted the invitation made by the ADCC promotion.
