Kenta Iwamoto

Kenta Iwamoto is a Japanese grappler as well as a judo and jiu-jitsu black belt in jiu-jitsu under Yusuke Honma who often represents B-Team (USA) on the international circuit. Iwamoto first made waves in the sport when he conquered the ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) Asian Trials in 2019, a deed he repeated several times, being a veteran in the promotion’s World Championships.

Kenta Iwamoto Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Kenta Iwamoto

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Yuki Nakai > Yusuke Honma > Kenta Iwamoto

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (2019, 2022, 2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2022 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Foot Trips (Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi & Deashi Harai)

Weight Division: 76.9 kg / 169.5 lb (in ADCC)

Team/Association: B-Team / Igloo

Kenta Iwamoto Biography

Kenta Iwamoto was born on February 13, 1997, in Shiroi a city located in Chiba Prefecture of Japan, where he spent the majority of his formative years except from 2002 to 2004 when Iwamoto lived with his family in New Jersey, USA, and two other years in Somerset, England, during high school.

The interest in martial arts – grappling in particular – came during junior high school, when Iwamoto started attending judo classes as an after-school activity. Kenta competed during this period but stopped competing when he transitioned to high school as there were only two other members in the school’s judo club making it very hard to be competitive.

Following Kenta’s footsteps, his brother also joined a judo club when he joined high school. In trying to help improve his ground skills for judo, his sibling’s instructor lent him a jiu-jitsu instructional DVD to learn from. This event opened Iwamoto’s eyes to BJJ as, after he watched the program with his brother, Kenta started drilling the techniques with his training partner at school and even attempted them in judo competitions during this period.

When he was 19, Kenta Iwamoto moved to Tokyo, Japan, for his university degree. Already a black belt in judo, Iwamoto sought to try jiu-jitsu instead, training under Atsunori Hiruma, from whom he earned his blue belt.

Three (3) years into his formal jiu-jitsu training, Kenta Iwamoto earned his purple belt from Tri-Force’s team leader, Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa, and started making waves in the submission grappling world by winning the 2019 ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials in the 66-kilogram division. A glimpse into Iwamoto’s full potential.

As time progressed, Kenta stopped training and competing with the kimono to focus solely on his no-gi skills. In 2022, after competing against Jozef Chen at the ADCC Trials he was invited by his rival to prepare for the World Championship in Austin, Texas, USA, with Chen’s workgroup, the B-Team. In Austin, Kenta Iwamoto was able to bond with team leaders Craig Jones, Nicky Ryan, Ethan Crelinsten, and Nicky Rodriguez.

Iwamoto continued to make regular trips between B-Team in the USA and his training partners in Japan, eventually earning his black belt from Yusuke Honma on May 31, 2023.