Junny Ocasio

Edwin Ocasio, commonly known as Junny Ocasio is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Murilo Santana, and one of the main representatives of the Unity Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City, USA. Junny gained recognition in the grappling world, particularly under the nogi setting by consistently competing in different rulesets with great success, be it submission-only, Kasai Pro, or International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) rules.

Junny Ocasio Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Edwin Ocasio Junior

Nickname: “Junny” is an engaging way of saying, Junior. A nickname that has been associated with Ocasio since he was a toddler.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Mario Yamasaki > Murilo Santana > Edwin Ocasio

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF European ChampionshipNOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF Atlanta Spring Open NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF New York Open NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF New Haven Spring Open NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF New Haven Summer Open NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place ADCC Orange County Open (2023)
• 2nd Place Kasai 6 Grand Prix (2019)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2019 / 2021)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European NoGi Open (2019)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2017 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Boston Spring Open (2018 brown)
• 1st Place Sub-Spectrum Invitational 135 lbs (2019)
• 1st Place SOGI Invitational 135 lbs (2019)
• 1st Place KASAI Pro 155lbs Qualifier (2017)
• 2nd Place KASAI Pro 135lbs Qualifier (2019)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2014 blue, 2016 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2015 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2018 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Saddle Position, Pressure Passing

Weight Division: Peso Pluma  (64,00 kg / 141.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Unity JJ

Junny Ocasio Biography

Edwin Ocasio was born on January 23, 1989, in the Bronx, one New York City’s most famous boroughs.

Growing up in a turbulent household, Ocasio endured extreme abuse early on in his life. These tragic circumstances led Junny to suffer from behavior issues at school and a general disconnection with the traditional academic setting.

At the age of 15, while attending high school in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Junny found the sport of wrestling, and what he perceived to be his natural calling. A way to vent out his penned-up frustrations without the repercussions that occurred in day-to-day life.

From the moment he started wrestling, Ocasio was hooked. Unfortunately, his sporting high-school career fell short at the age of 16, when Ocasio tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a wrestling match, causing him to cease his wrestling training. It would take him nearly six years to fix his injury, through surgery, but as soon as he did, he returned to combat sports.

It was in 2013 that Ocasio re-committed to combat, and then joined a mixed martial arts (MMA) academy. During his MMA training, Edwin noticed how much he enjoyed jiu-jitsu, an interest that grew to the point that he decided this was his preferred path in combat sports.

Coaches Christian Montes and Carlo Chan were Junny Ocasio’s first instructors at Ronin Athletics, and it was while training with them that Edwin met and befriended Murilo Santana, then the future founder of the Unity Jiu-Jitsu Academy.

At the time when Ocasio met Murilo, the famous grappler was looking for a space in which to open a gym in New York City. While scouting for places, Santana trained at the same gym as Junny (Ronin). More often than not, Ocasio would open the gym up in the early hours of the day and would train by himself with Murilo, a ritual that lasted for months. Santana became Junny’s sparring partner and coach, for the most part, during this process and once he found the space to open his gym, Junny decided to switch teams, then becoming the first Unity JJ student.

Santana quickly grew into more than a coach, a mentorship that led to Ocasio’s brown belt promotion on in 2017, and his black belt grading on August 3, 2019.

Junny Ocasio vs Alex Weaver