Santeri Lilius

Santeri Lilius is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Roger Gracie who is also the co-founder of the LiliusBarnatt Martial Arts Academy, a successful gym located in Costa Del Sol – Spain. Originally from Finland, Santeri became a familiar face on the European competitive grappling scene after solid performances on the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, where he won several International Opens, later going on to achieve success also under the ADCC ruleset with wins at the European Trials.

Santeri Lilius Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Santeri Lilius

Nickname: N/A

Lineage:  Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > Roger Gracie > Santeri Lilius

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place ADCC European Trials (2022 / 2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Open NOGI (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF Rome Open (2016)
• 1st Place IBJJF Berlin Open (2015)
• 1st Place IBJJF Berlin Open NoGi (2015 / 2016)
• 1st Place IBJJF Madrid Open (2019)
• 1st Place IBJJF Spanish Nationals (2019)
• 1st Place IBJJF Spanish Nationals NOGI (2016)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Spanish Nationals (2016)
• 2nd Place IBJJF London Fall Open (2015 / 2016)
• 2nd Place UAEJJF Grand Slan, LDN (2017)
• 2nd Place SBJJL Finnish Open (2016)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2022)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2020)
• 3rd Place UAEJJF Grand Slan, LDN (2020)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2014 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2015 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Estima Lock

Weight Division: Peso Pesado (94kg/207lbs)

Team/Association: LiliusBarnatt Martial Arts

Santeri Lilius Biography

Santeri Lilius was born on June 26, 1991, in a small Finnish town named Karkola although he grew up in Lahti, also in Finland.

As a child, Santeri was committed to ice hockey, a very popular sport in his home country which he played competitively up until his 14th birthday at the junior national level. As a 15-year-old Lilius chose to swap the ice rings for the mats and joined a Gensei Ruy Karate school.

It was while training in karate that the young martial artist discovered jiu-jitsu. His sensei was an avid fan of BJJ and made an effort to incorporate a few useful grappling techniques on to his curriculum, this experience would ramp Santeri up to join a local mixed martial arts school. MMA was booming at the time and Lilius loved the sport and aspired to someday follow a career as a cage-fighter.

Unfortunately, during his early days of training MMA, Lilius broke a rib from a kick he received while sparring. The incident drove Santeri’s parents to cancel his membership and veto his training, fearing for the young man’s safety. Although gutted about his parents’ decision, Lilius decided then to join a jiu-jitsu school (where there were no strikes) to wait until he was 18 (adulthood), when he could re-sign for MMA.

It was in the early months of 2008 that Santeri joined the classroom of Raimo Posti and Marko Kallioinen, both blue belts instructors at the time, who represented the Lucio Linhares team. From there Lilius trained at various locations, being promoted by several instructors of different squads, with his black belt promotion occurring in 2015, in a ceremony guided by Roger Gracie.

After finishing his studies at the Sports Institute of Finland, Lilius was offered a job as a jiu-jitsu coach in the South of Spain, an offer grabbed with both hands by the young grappler. It would take Santeri 5 years to gather the funds to found his gym in the region, in partnership with UFC veteran cage fighter Luke Barnatt. The two formed the LiliusBarnatt Martial Arts dojo, located in the famous Mediterranian beach area of Costa Del Sol Torremolinos, Spain.