Bill “The Grill” Cooper (Paragon)

Bill “The Grill” Cooper is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, and one of the most exciting fighters to watch in BJJ today. The Paragon BJJ Team standout was (at the time of the award) the youngest American to have achieved a black belt in the Brazilian martial art.

Bill Cooper in Detail

Full Name: William Cooper

Nickname: “The Grill” derives from his exquisite set of front teeth.

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Ricardo Miller > William Cooper

Main Achievements:

• 27x Grapplers Quest Champion
• Pan American Champion (2007 brown belt)
• Houston Open Champion (2010)
• Best of the West Champion (2007)
• 2x World Silver Medallist (2008, 2007 open weight brown belt)
• World Nogi Silver Medallist (2007 open weight)
• World Bronze Medallist (2010 black belt)
• World Nogi Bronze Medallist (2008 middle weight)

Weight Division: Peso Medio (82kg-181lbs), Peso Leve (76kg-167lbs)

Team/Association: Paragon BJJ

Merchandise: Bill Cooper Deep Half Guard Killer

Bill “The Grill” Cooper Biography

Bill Cooper was born on the 5th of May, 1987 in Santa Barbara – California. He started practicing Jiu Jitsu when he was in his early teens with Ricardo Franjinha. His natural ability for the sport was evident from the get go, as he started competing in Grapplers Quest when he was a mere 15 years of age. Jeff Glover a prestigious veteran grappler from the same camp as Bill Cooper (Paragon BJJ) said of Cooper that with just one year of training he was already having trouble to submit “The Grill” and by the 3rd year he was trying not to be submitted.

In 2007 Bill Cooper fought the Pan American, winning the competition with flying colours, submitting everyone in the brown belt division. He went on to medal at the Mundial that same year (in the absolute division) where Bill was desqualified in the final – against Otavio Souza – for not wearing underwear, a very unusual event in a final of a major tournament. After the World Championships he was awarded his black belt, at age 20. Meaning he was the youngest American to have received a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

In 2008 Bill Cooper embargoed in a career in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) with a win against Ricardo Patino at the “Future Stars of MMA” event in Las Vegas. A fight he won by RNC in one minute. He continued his career in MMA throughout 2009 with two more wins leaving his Kimono on the shelf, but he came back strong in 2010 with some good wins and great displays of BJJ in important tournaments such as the Mundial, the Nogi Worlds.

Bill Cooper vs Rodrigo Cavaca

Bill Cooper vs Wesley Gann

Bill Cooper vs Hermes Franca

Bill Cooper’s MMA debute (against Ricardo Patino)