Frank Cespedes

Frank Cespedes is a professional grappler and a jiu-jitsu black belt under Hector Vasquez who represents team Alliance in the sport’s international circuit. Cespedes became known as one of the rising stars of the roosterweight category during his colored belt career for his aggressive style and his gold medal performances in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World & Pan American No-Gi Championships as well as the gi Pan American tournament, later cementing his status as one of the top figures in his weight class in the pro-division of grappling.

Frank Cespedes Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Frank Cespedes

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Alexandre Paiva > Fernando Terere > Rubens Charles > Hector Vasquez > Frank Cespedes

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals (2022)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2022 / 2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2020 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2019 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2021 brown)

Main Achievements (Juvenile):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2018)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2017)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2017 / 2018)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Weight Division: Peso Galo  (57,50 kg / 127.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Alliance

Frank Cespedes Biography

Frank Cespedes was born on October 27, 2001, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

A very sporty child, Cespedes’ competitive life started with football (soccer) as a child. Although soccer sparked in Frank the love for competition, the fact that it was a team sport and the fate of the result was not solely in his hands led the young Las Vegas native to seek a more one-on-one type of sport, a control he found in martial arts.

At the age of 12, Frank Cespedes joined a martial arts gym where he was able to train boxing and jiu-jitsu under the tutelage of Michael Ceijas, though it didn’t take long for Frank to lean more towards the grappling portion of his training schedule.

After a few years at Ceijas’s school, Frank started working on his jiu-jitsu with coach Hector Vasquez whose training program had many competitors of the same age and mindset as Frank. Once his first year of high school was finished, Cespedes joined an online program to complete the rest of his secondary education, a decision made so he could focus on his grappling career under a full-time regime, training 2-3 times per day.

Cespedes started training under coach Vasquez as a grey belt, going all the way through to black belt with the same instructor from whom he received his black belt, on May 18, 2021, after a fantastic career in the colored belt divisions.