Who Will Be the Next Great American World Champion? /// By: Alec Baulding
I'm really excited for this guest post since this topic is one that is close to my heart. Not only is this one of my personal goals, but it is also a major goal for many of my close friends and acquaintances. Many of whom have already become world champions at the lower ranks and are currently tearing up the competition scene.
I see this guest post as a series of articles on this topic.
But for now, I think the major idea behind this article is that what I want you to take from it is that Jiu Jitsu has been a part of the collective martial arts culture within the U.S. for a few decades now, but it still feels like we have yet to make it. I'm not alone in this thought. Many of the leaders within the Jiu Jitsu community, the instructors, business owners and active competitors feel this way too, and in a way it lead me to write this post.
A good example is the Jiu Jitsu World Championship or Worlds, as many of us refer to it, will be approaching its tenth year being hosted in the U.S., having moved here from Brazil in 2007. During which time there has been exactly one American male to win gold at the black belt level. Two champions overall if we count since its beginning.
Even in the most prestigious no gi tournament, Abu Dhabi Combat Club, otherwise known as ADCC, has only known a handful of American champions. Most recently Orlando Sanchez.
- So why hasn't there been any more American champions since then?
- Why is it so hard to make it to, and to dominate at the black belt pro level?
- And what will it take to get more American athletes to that level?
I don't believe that there is one simple answer or checklist of things that will easily remedy this situation.
But we can examine the current systems in place and find out where we can improve upon and by coming together as a community maybe we can find a way.
I'm expecting a lot of feedback from this article so please comment with your thoughts.
Past American World Champions
The champions of the past live as legends today.
Who can forget B.J. Penn, the first American male to win a World Championship at the black belt level. His victory still inspires many of the current generation to put everything they have into making competitive Jiu Jitsu their careers and their dreams come true.
Or in more recent years, when Rafael Lovato took home the gold to become the last American male champion at the World Championships.
I think that in order to understand the present and future of American Jiu Jitsu, we must also look at our past.
Journey to America
Before the great migration of Brazilian Champions to the U.S. to places like California, New York, Texas, and Florida, Brazil had a monopoly on all of the top Jiu Jitsu talent, techniques, and training methods.
Try saying that three times really fast.
Years ago, if you wanted to further develop your skills you had to travel to Brazil because that's where all the best instructors, the best schools, and the most prestigious tournaments were all located.
There were a few standouts such as Ricco Rodriguez, Mark Kerr, and Jeff Monson during this time period. All in the 90’s, when Jiu Jitsu was a relatively new martial art in the states. But it wasn't until the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 1993 that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu reached the forefront of the American martial arts community. Yet it would be many years before Jiu Jitsu would become widespread and accessible enough to the average American.
At this point American competitors were still relying more on their base in wrestling and a basic level of Jiu Jitsu.
Mid 2000’s
It wasn't until higher level instructors began moving to the U.S. that a rising crop of high level American Jiu Jitsu competitors were able to be developed. Academies like Paragon producing stand out athletes such as Jeff Glover and Bill Cooper and Alliance producing Chris Moriarty in the mid 2000’s. There were also big names such as Mike Fowler and Ryan Hall.
The history of Jiu Jitsu in the U.S. really isn't that long. But you would think that there would be a few more standouts considering how widespread it has become now.
Current Black Belts
The current crop of black belts are looking really promising with the female divisions leading the pack with multiple time World Champion Mackenzie Dern. I'm not trying to win brownie points here but as far as American competitors, there hasn't been anyone who has done or accomplished what she has achieved as of yet.
There have been a lot of athletes with the potential to win a world title, but to win back to back world titles is unheard of for an American Jiu Jitsu athlete.
That said, there have been a few that have gotten really close. In 2014, JT Torres made it to the finals of the black belt lightweight division against returning World Champion Lucas Lepri. Although JT did not come out on top, taking the silver medal instead. He showed that the current generation of American competitors is talented, skilled in the art of Jiu Jitsu, and most importantly, hungry to win.
Another American competitor, Edwin Najimi, held as the “New Face of the Lightweight Division” would go on to leave his mark during his first appearance on the black belt world stage during the 2016 World Championship, again facing the reigning lightweight World Champion, Lucas Lepri. Although the results were not in Edwin's favor, he did what many thought impossible. He went into one of the most stacked divisions as a new black belt and made it to the finals. This was a division full of past world champions, and many experienced competitors.
Up and Comers
There's a whole new crop of top notch American talent that is already making waves in the Jiu Jitsu world. This past year alone, I was really impressed with athletes such as Isaac Doederlein, Mikey Musumeci, Dillon Danis, Tim Spriggs, James Puopolo, Megan Neville, Tammi Musumeci and Sijara Eubanks and I'm just mentioning the black belts off the top of my head.
In the lower belts there is even more potential being molded by many of the top world champions today and will be sure to make their names known very soon.
I really believe that this generation of black belt competitors is the most talented and driven athletes that the U.S. has ever produced and I can't wait to see what they achieve in the future.
American No Gi Competitors
As far as the gi versus no gi debate, Americans have fared a lot better without the gi. This could be because of a number of reasons but I believe it's because there is greater emphasis on no gi from athletes coming from a wrestling background.
I've written about this before in [transitioning from no gi to gi]:
I think that this stops a lot of no gi guys from trying out the gi. It is harder to move in.
This and they figure that they might not be as good at Jiu Jitsu with the gi on.
I understand that everyone has a preference. But to limit yourself to one or the other is a doing a disservice to yourself and your development.
I don't want to start a debate as to which is better gi or no gi. I just think that it is unwise to limit yourself completely to one or the other.
That being said, I have to bring up the No Gi Worlds where we have already had a number of American champions such as: AJ Agazarm, DJ Jackson, JT Torres, and Keenan Cornelius.
Many of the professional tournaments have also lead to the fame and success of athletes such as Garry Tonon, Gordon Ryan, Geo Martinez, and Eddie Cummings.*
While the no gi tournaments have yet to reach the participation levels of the gi only tournaments. This doesn't take away from the level of skill that our athletes are showcasing as well as its popularity in online streamed professional events.
In the past, Americans were known for their strength and their wrestling within the Jiu Jitsu world. But now we are seeing a blend of both art forms that I know will be important for future competitions.
Why is it so hard?
So above I talked a lot about the current potential of our past, present, and future athletes.
I still hold that this current generation of competitors is the best that have ever been produced. But there has to be a way of molding that potential in order to increase the chances of their success.
I would liken it to the Olympics and how no matter what the U.S. always manages to come out on top as far as the medal count. It's not luck but a system designed to nurture and bring the best athletes. That outlook and its implementation is what I hope to create discussion about with this post.
I think that we have yet to see a number of American competitor winning the most prestigious tournaments and staying on top for a number of reasons unique to Jiu Jitsu and combat sports in general in the U.S. that might not be the case in other countries.
We are going to examine a few of the bigger reasons that I believe that are holding our American competitors from reaching the top of the podium although it's possible that I will miss a few. Again, please comment with your thoughts.
1. It takes a lot of experience
Reaching a high level in Jiu Jitsu takes a lot of training and competition experience. Not only is it physically intensive, it's also mentally intensive.
Compared to most combat sports, Jiu Jitsu is like doing rocket science. It combines all the moves from Judo, Wrestling, and Sambo, advantage points, time limits, no time limits, points, no points.
This is a really complex martial art. I think that's why it lends itself to analytical minds. You see this with a lot of the top competitors as well. They have extremely good attention to detail, always studying positions, and have patience in improving.
Being a black belt or an elite level no gi athlete does not happen overnight.
Even those blue belt prodigies that are able to beat black belts don't just come out of nowhere. A lot of times they have been training as long or longer than many black belts. They just happen to be younger and have a lower rank.
2. Participation of past world champions
One of the unique situations that occurs in Jiu Jitsu is the longevity that our athletes are able to maintain. It's not unheard of to have athletes actively competing for a decade or more, or to have master athletes (30+ years old) win or place in the adult (18-29 year olds) division.
This also means that past and current World Champions are able to stick around longer, especially in the lower weight classes. I don't want to make any excuses but as a newer black belt it's very difficult to overcome the experience that a lot of the current world champions have. For instance, Bruno Malfacine won his first black belt world title in 2007. I had just gotten my blue belt at that time and I have been around for a long time!
Athletes competing over close to or over a decade at black belt
● Cobrinha
● Lucas Lepri
● Michael Langhi
● Bruno Malfacine
● Caio Terra
● Xande Ribeiro
● Lucas Leite
While there have been a few exceptions to this rule, when there is a younger athlete that comes in and completely takes over a division, I wouldn’t call it a normal occurrence.
Never underestimate experience
One thing that I've learned from competing this year is to never underestimate experience. The experience of being tested on the highest level of competition, the experience of winning the biggest tournaments, the experience of losing on the biggest stages. That all comes together to make for really hard to beat competitors, regardless if they have won a world championship or not.
Everyone is good at black belt.
Many of the rising American competitors still lack in the level of experience that their Brazilian counterparts have had for many years now. But I know that we will eventually catch up. It's just a matter of time.
3. Competitive
There is a lot of competition at the black belt and pro levels. Not only do you have former and current world champions vying for the top position, but you also have all of the top talent from the lower belts added to the mix as well.
That's makes for a very competitive environment where anything can happen.
3. The best competitors are only getting better
I think it's telling that the best guys are also continuing to improve their skills and evolving.
What works one year might be ineffective the next year so top level competitors are always staying on the forefront of the new developments occurring within the sport of Jiu Jitsu.
Couple this with years of experience and again it's not hard to see why the usual suspects often make it to the championship rounds.
4. Jiu Jitsu not a high school/college sport
Being an American competitor in Jiu Jitsu isn't easy. Growing up, we have access to so many sports and activities that it's hard to pick one to specialize in. I see this a lot with the younger generations that grew up playing multiple sports.
For many younger athletes, sports will be the way that they fund their educations.
So it's hard to justify choosing to put so much effort into Jiu Jitsu during a critical time in their development. Especial when other sports can provide scholarships to college, and possibly Olympic contention and professional outlets.
Going to College
In the U.S., many young adults are pushed to go to college, get a good degree, and then go into the workforce and become productive adults.
Many of the current competitors have had to make tremendous sacrifices in deciding whether or not they would go to college and how they would be able to maintain their training.
Those that do go to college have to balance their dedication to our sport with the responsibilities of studying, exams, and adjusting to college courses.
Often their grades will suffer and they don't really have time to enjoy the experience of college. I know I spent so much time training and competing that I really missed out on some important moments during college that I will never get back.
Those that decide not to go to college take the risk that they might not make it in Jiu Jitsu and not have anything to fall back on. Let's face it, while there is money for the highest level competitors and champions, the mid to low level competitors are living tournament to tournament.
So athletes are often forced into deciding if they will continue to develop their Jiu Jitsu careers while trying to maintain their studies, or if they will go all in on Jiu Jitsu.
This is an important decision that many Jiu Jitsu athletes have to make. Trying to do both could lead to tens of thousands of dollars in school fees that they might not be able to pay off with the current state of resources in Jiu Jitsu. But if they do choose to go all in on their Jiu Jitsu career and it doesn't work out, then they aren't left with many options if it comes to transitioning into another field.
I've mentioned this before in other essays, but making it in Jiu Jitsu is no easy task. I always advise other athletes to develop themselves outside of Jiu Jitsu in case injury or circumstance keeps them from competing at a high level.
Develop other interest, have some skills that you can hone that doesn't involve Jiu Jitsu or that utilizes your Jiu Jitsu in an entrepreneurial way. Jiu Jitsu is a great martial art. But it's also a great tool that you can use to better and improve yourself. -Alec Baulding
5. Jiu Jitsu is not very accessible
Jiu Jitsu is not very accessible to teenagers and young adults. This time period is often the most important time in an athlete's development. Especially in developing technique and the necessary motor skills to be great at Jiu Jitsu.
While there are a few academies strong in these age groups such as the Art of Jiu Jitsu and TLI/Crazy 88. Many academies see a major drop off between their kids program (3-14 years old) into their adult programs (25 and up).
I saw this happen first hand at my academy. Where for the longest time I was the youngest person in many of the training sessions and I'm in my mid twenties. In many of the academies that I have traveled to this has also been the case.
There really aren't that many young Americans (14-24) pursuing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu between the costs of training, other activities, school, jobs, etc.
Jiu Jitsu is expensive in America
I think the main key we are missing in America in building champions is so many school owners are solely focused on making money. If there isn't an option to make a fast turn around to benefit themselves they aren't willing to put in the time and focus to build a champion from nothing. If you aren't willing to dedicate your time expecting nothing in return you are in trouble before you get started as a coach. It takes patience and persistence along with great sacrifice from family, friends and any other things that you may enjoy in your free time. I think a student must see great sacrifice from you as a coach before they have a fine understanding of what great sacrifice is. -Heath Pedigo
Jiu Jitsu is a very expensive sport and martial art.
I personally got really lucky in that I had relatives that saw the benefits of me doing Jiu Jitsu and I was close enough to one of the best schools in the country. Under different circumstances I don't think I would be anywhere near the level that I am now.
Let's do a little cost analysis:
● Buy a gi $150
● Membership $200/month
● Tournament registration $100/event
● Rash guard $60
● Shorts $50
● Private lessons $150/session
Things really add up before you see any return on your initial investment. It's really not until purple belt that athletes start getting recognized for their achievements and if they're lucky land a sponsorship or a chance to compete in a professional event. But they're still limited in their ability to do seminars, teach private lessons, and doing super fights.
Even when they reach black belt a few years later it's still an uphill battle. If you're coming from one of the larger teams there's even more competition. Competition against other black belts and competition with their own team mates for whatever available resources they can get their hands on just to get by.
Jiu Jitsu is still a growing sport, but it takes many years to become proficient at, and even more years before you are able to compete at the highest levels where you will potentially be able to make a living.
6. Weird state between amateur and professional status
Right now Jiu Jitsu is in a weird state where it's stuck between being an amateur sport and a professional sport.
The vast majority of tournaments are unpaid. In fact, the participants pay a rather large sum of money to compete.
This is slowly changing with the rise of pro events such as fight to win pro (F2W), Polaris, Metamoris, Copa Podio, and EBI. There is definitely a market for a professional league for the highest level talents and I hope we continue down this path.
But as far as athletes being able to support themselves, cover their living expenses, training fees, nutrition needs, and everything else, we are still a long ways behind.
Of course the guys and girls that have made it to that level where they are consistently making it to these pro events have the ability to do well for themselves.
But many of the top paying tournaments are winner takes all events, which while exciting and great for the audience watching the event. What about the competitors that spent months training and dieting in preparation for this event only to go home empty handed.
Imagine if there was a professional sports league where only the champion team got payed. I don't think it would last very long.
7. MMA is more popular
While Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is growing every year, it's growth is nowhere near what MMA has experienced during a similar time frame.
It's important to note that the optimal years for a Jiu Jitsu athletes are the same as those of MMA fighters.
I think many Jiu Jitsu athletes get to the point where they consider making the transition to mixed martial arts often due to financial reasons. If you've reached a high level in Jiu Jitsu but don't see a way to make it, then MMA is one way to utilize your skill set and make a living.
MMA has a lot to offer athletes that is just not currently present in the sport of Jiu Jitsu namely:
● Millions of people potentially knowing who you are
● Ability to make a great living, even millions of dollars
● Exposure to branch out into other fields like acting
● Status as a professional athlete
● Sponsorships that pay
There have already been many top competitors and world champions that have made the move to MMA and been successful. Being a Jiu Jitsu athlete, it's inspiring when I seen guys that I used to compete against in tournaments making it to the most prestigious MMA events and making 5-6 figures per fight. I can see why a lot of competitors make the move from Jiu Jitsu to MMA.
If you love the lifestyle of training all the time and want to monetize you martial art and athletic skills then you really only have one option.
Jiu Jitsu Athletes that transitioned to MMA
● Beneil Dariush
● Roberto Satoshi
● Demian Maia
● Ronaldo Jacare
● Roger Gracie
● Rodolfo Vieira
● Ryan Hall
● Gilbert Burns
● Augusto Mendes
● Gabi Garcia
● Mackenzie Dern
I could keep going but this list is only going to keep getting longer, especially as MMA continues to grow and be able to offer Jiu Jitsu athletes access to more resources, sponsorships, and paydays.
Conclusion
The majority of the top American competitors are up and coming and while there is a lot of opportunity in Jiu Jitsu, there is this long queue of very talented, very experienced, athletes that are all vying for a very limited number of top positions.
There have been many American competitors with the ability and talent to win the World Championship or ADCC or any of the other high level tournaments. But the amount of time that it takes, often unpaid and unrecognized, forces many athletes to consider different outlets for their skills. Some choosing to follow completely different careers while others will continue utilizing their talents in MMA where they will be able to make a good living for themselves and their families.
While there has yet to be a dominant male competitor I know that we are getting close. This past year I've had the opportunity to train with and compete against some of the best American athletes and everything is there. The skills, the movement, the techniques are all there. I think the only thing now is for these athletes to continue gaining experience and sharpening their technique through competing.
Compared to their male counterparts, female competitors have really set the standard for what it takes to win at the highest level at black belt with athletes such as Hillary Williams, Lana Stefanac, and Mackenzie Dern all taking home gold at the world championship.
Future of American Competitors
I talked a lot about the current up and comers but what I'm really excited about is the next generation of American Jiu Jitsu competitors. This new generation was the first to grow up training with the best Jiu Jitsu instructors since they were young children and also grow up wrestling.
These are the kids that can play all of the modern guards but are also well versed in takedowns.
The future American world champions are going to be some of the most well rounded grapplers ever produced and I think it's at this point when Americans will become more dominant within the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I can't wait to see what the future holds!
If you have any thoughts on this topic please feel free to post a comment.
*I couldn't find any references that stated that Eddie Cummings is American although he did win the 2014 ADCC trials.