Newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has another belt to add to his collection – a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt. Gracie Barra shared the news on their official Instagram: “Congratulations on both belts @leonedwardsmma 👏 This long journey requires consistency and passion, mastering skills and techniques. Receiving a
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Ash Williams spoke to Grappling Insider about representing Wales and making history at the 2022 ADCC World Championships. As one of the UK’s top competitive black belts over the past decade, Ash Williams has felt the pressure to win — the expectation of winning. So when Williams punched his ticket
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On August 20th there was a prestigious tournament held by REORG based in Wolverhampton, UK, and hollywood movie star Tom Hardy not only competed, but he won his weight category in both the Gi and No-Gi, scoring himself two gold medals. The British actor is known for his role in
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Frontman of British pop band The 1975 Matty Healy is another celebrity who has also decided to take up the self-defense martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The singer recently dropped into Roger Gracie Academy HQ, London for some private sessions with black belt coach Alex Smith. However, Healy’s martial arts
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“Some of the most exciting matches I have watched are women’s matches and I’m sure a lot of men would say the same thing; so I don’t know why no one else has done this before in the UK.”- Joanne Wellstead ENYO is going to be the first ever all-female
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A battle between one of Europe’s best leg lockers and one of America’s best leg lockers is slated for Grapplefest 13. On October 1, current Grapplefest 90 kg. champion Eoghan O’Flanagan will take on challenger Jacob “The Hillbilly Hammer” Couch. The match-up was announced on Instagram. View this post on
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British grappling promotion Polaris have been hosting the creme de la creme of events lately in the grappling world, especially when it comes to pitting different talents from across the globe against one another. Polaris Squads 3 in August 2021 saw Team USA Vs Team UK and Ireland, where Team
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On Saturday, June 25, Polaris returns to action with one of the best cards in the promotion’s history. The event will feature the Polaris Squads format in which elite grapplers representing the USA and Brazil will face each other in a fast-paced, team competition. And in the main event, MMA
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Polaris and Grapplefest vet, British grappler, coach, and black belt judoka Owen Livesey has recently been promoted to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Livesey trains out of Carlson Gracie Hull, which he owns, and was promoted to black belt by 5th degree black belt Carlson Gracie Jr. With a background
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Welsh grappler Ffion Davies has made it to the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt World Championship finals, being the first British/Welsh grappler to ever do so. If you take a look at the previous winners of the black belt divisions at the World Championships, there is one common occurrence –
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