Kurt Osiander is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor and black belt from the Ralph Gracie Academy in San Francisco. Osiander is one of the cult heroes in BJJ’s community due to his video blog “Kurt Osiander’s Move of the Week” where is personality and technical habilities captured the interest of 1000′s of BJJ fans.
Orlando Sanchez, also known as “The Cuban Tree Stump”, is an American born Jiu Jitsu black belt under Jose Olimpio (AKA Ze Radiola) who competes at ultra heavyweight for Gracie Barra in BJJ competitions. Orlando Sanchez is also known for his drug dependence which he overcame through practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, becoming in the process one of the fastest Americans to have reached the degree of black belt in the sport (4 years).
Mackenzie Dern is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and one of the top female grapplers in the 2010 era. Being also the daughter of a respected BJJ personality, Wellington Dias, a lot was expected of Mackenzie Dern, and she did not disappoint, having become one of the top female athletes in BJJ. Mackenzie Dern is also famed for her relationship with professional BJJ competitor Augusto Mendes.
Felipe “Preguiça” Pena is a BJJ black belt from the famous Gracie Barra academy affiliate in Belo Horizonte, a camp that has brought us fighters such as Romulo Barral, Marcelo Azevedo, Pablo Silva and many others. Felipe Pena was regarded as one of the biggest prospects in the jiu jitsu world while he was still a brown belt, after his amazing performances in tournaments such as the World Championships and the Copa Podio.
Christian Graugart is a famous BJJ blogger who has become a successful published author through his BJJ Globetrotter book, which tells the story of how in 2011 Christian traveled the world with the purpose of training in as many Jiu Jitsu academies as possible meeting different cultures and personalities, all of which shared one thing in common, Jiu Jitsu.
Joao Gabriel Rocha is a BJJ black belt under Master “Tatu” Escobar and Rafael “Formiga” from the Soul Fighters Academy. Having trained since he was 2 years old, Joao Gabriel became one of the top prospects of sporting Jiu Jitsu through his consecutive wins as a brown belt.
Rodolphe Olivier is a French grappler who holds the rank of black belt in jiu jitsu, a belt awarded by Ricardo Vieira. Rodolphe and his three brothers (all BJJ black belts) have represented France all around the world, conquering important medals. They have also founded one of the top academies in France, the Gokudo.
Brandon Mullins, is one of the most accomplished American born BJJ black belts, being the second American to win two world titles in the adult black belt division of the sport. Brandon Mullins made a name for himself as one of the top jiu jitsu competitors in the rooster weight division after he won his first Pan American title in 2009 (no gi). He has since become one of the most successful American born BJJ black belts in the world through his recurring success at the world no gi championships.
Marcos Torregrosa, also known as Marcos “Yemaso” in the fighting world, is a jiu jitsu black belt under Cassio Werneck. Originally from Puerto Rico, Marcos Torregrosa made a name for himself in the grappling world competing mainly in the United States where he conquered several important tournaments such as the American National, Grapplers Quest, the US Open an many other trophies. Yamaso is also part of the Lloyd Irvin association, which he joined in 2011.
Ryron Gracie is the grandson of Helio Gracie and the oldest son of Rorion Gracie, being part of the third generation of jiu jitsu’s most illustrious family. A recognizable figure within the jiu jitsu community, Ryron Gracie became also a familiar face amongst MMA fans after a series of web episodes named “The Gracie Breakdown” Where Ryron and his brother Rener Gracie go over techniques utilized in UFC events. Ryron Gracie is also an instructor at the Gracie Academy.
A spectacular jiu jitsu fighter from Checkmat and one of the most accurate finishers modern day jiu jitsu, Renato Cardoso received his black belt in 2012 by the hands of Rodrigo Cavaca and hit the ground running that year winning both a world title (CBJJE) and a Sao Paulo International Open only a few weeks after receiving the well deserved black belt.
DJ Jackson, is one of Team Lloyd Irvin’s most accomplished grapplers and an important figure in jiu jitsu’s middleweight division, having won the IBJJF world championship in every belt on his way to earning his black belt, a promotion he achieved on July 2012. Originally a wrestler, DJ Jackson became part of Lloyd Irvin’s jiu jitsu team on his off season, and picked up a series of wins from the start, relegating wrestling to the background to focus on BJJ competition.
Daisuke Nakamura is a Judo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt graduated from the Grabaka Gym, an academy founded by the former king of Pancrase, Sanae Kikuta, in Tokyo, Japan. Daisuke Nakamura has been one of the top BJJ competitors of Japan having won several All Japan championships in the black belt division. He has also taken a place as one of Grabaka’s jiu jitsu instructors.
One of the premiere MMA fighters of his generation, UFC competitor Alan Beltcher (also known as “The Talent”) has a top level grappling game, much of which has been attributed to his coaches Helio Soneca and Daniel Moraes.
Otavio Sousa is a Gracie Barra representative and one of the top fighters in jiu jitsu’s middleweight division. A BJJ black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, Otavio Sousa spent most of his jiu jitsu education with coach “Zé Radiola” at the Gracie Academy in Recife.
Josh Griffiths is a BJJ black belt under former UFC title contender Kenny Florian, and the main instructor of the Clockwork Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Josh Griffiths started his career in jiu jitsu under Fabio Clemente of Alliance, and trained with Marcelo Garcia for a long period of time before he severed his ties with the Alliance Academy duo in a well debated case all over the internet which ended in a lawsuit against Garcia & Clemente (later dismissed), and shook the BJJ community back in 2007. Josh Griffiths was also one of the top competitors in the New York BJJ scene with wins at the Pan American Championship as a brown belt and multiple World Jiu Jitsu Pro Cup trials wins.
An avid competitor for the Grappling Fight Team academy, Vitor Henrique Oliveira is a jiu jitsu black belt under Master Adilson Lima “Bitta”. Vitor Henrique is also one of the few representatives of the famous Rio de Janeiro based team (GFT) outside Brazilian soild, more precisely in Ohio, United States of America.
Igor Rodrigues, also known as “Baixinho”, is a jiu jitsu lack belt under Marcos Chuck who trains and competes for the Checkmat academy in Rio de Janeiro. Originally from the region of Buzios, Igor became a Capoeira master before turning to BJJ. His biggest achievements to this date in grappling have been his titles at the Brazilian nationals.
Ben Baxter is a jiu jitsu black belt graduated by the iconic Wellington “Megaton” Diaz who trains and competes for the Rafael Lovato Junior academy. Ben is regarded as one of the top competitors in the United States having medalled in many important tournaments
Vitor Toledo, also known as “Gigante” is a jiu jitsu black belt under Erivaldo Junior with a long list of achievements in the black belt medium heavy weight division. Since moving to the Atos team Toledo started making a bigger impact in the main events of the BJJ calendar, namely two silver medals at the Pan American & the World Pro Cup (2012). Vitor is also the cousin of another established black belt, Eduardo Toledo.
