Kaynan Casemiro Duarte (born 24 January 1998) is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. Duarte is a four-time champion at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship and two-time champion at the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the Heavyweight division.
Duarte was born on 24 January 1998, in Pederneiras, São Paulo, Brazil. [1] [2]
During his pre-teens, Duarte developed an interest in martial arts and started attending Judo classes. [1] [2] From there and through his cousin he learnt about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and transitioned to the sport. [1] [2]
Duarte's first instructor was José Luis and Duarate moved to various places to train with different people to expand his knowledge on the sport. [1] [2] During his visits to São Paulo, he met Paulo Ledesma who was associated with Atos Jiu-Jitsu. [1] [2] Eventually in 2016, Duarte moved to San Diego, California, to join Atos Jiu-Jitsu under André Galvão. [1] [2] Galvão who served as Duarte's coach promoted Duarte to Black Belt in 2018 after Duarte won the 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in both the Brown Belt heavyweight and absolute divisions. [2] [3] Duarte received his black belt only one year after his promotion to brown belt. [2]
In the 2019 ADCC World Championship, Duarte defeated Eldar Rafigaev, Yuri Simoes, Marcus Almeida and Nick Rodriguez to become champion in the heavyweight division. [1] [4] [5] Duarte also competed in the absolute division but suffered an upset loss in the first round against welterweight Lachlan Giles after being submitted by a Heel Hook. [1] [4] [5]
Duarte competed against Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu in the main event of BJJ Bet on 6 September 2020, losing by submission. [6] Duarte then competed in the main event of Who's Number One against Rodolfo Vieira on 11 December 2020. [7] He won the match by submission with a rear-naked choke. [8]
Duarte was invited to compete in a tournament at Third Coast Grappling 6 on 3 April 2021. [9] Duarte defeated Mason Fowler, Aaron 'Tex' Johnson, and Victor Hugo to win the tournament. [10] He then represented ATOS at Subversiv 5 on 1 May 2021. [11] He defeated both of his opponents and helped ATOS to win the tournament. [12] He was then invited to compete in the main event of the inaugural Road to ADCC event against Matheus Diniz. [13] Duarte won the match by submission, with a heel hook. [14]
Duarte suffered an upset in the Who's Number One championships on 21 September 2021. [1] [5] [15] He was invited to compete in the heavyweight division [16] and entered as a heavy favorite, he defeated Kyle Boehm and Giancarlo Bodoni. [1] [5] [15] In the final he faced unranked Tim Spriggs and was submitted by a heel hook. [1] [5] [15] [17]
Duarte was invited to compete in the 2022 ADCC World Championship on 17–18 September 2022. [18] Duarte won his second championship by defeating Owen Livesey, Elder Cruz, Rafael Lovato Jr. and Craig Jones to become champion in the light heavyweight division. [19] [1] [20]
On 29 January 2023, Duarte won gold medals in both the super-heavyweight division and the absolute division of the 2023 IBJJF European Championship. [21] Duarte was then invited to compete in the BJJ Stars 10 Absolute Grand prix on 22 April 2023. [22] Duarte won his first match against Vinicius Liberati by submission but was disqualified in his quarter-final match against Micael Galvão after reaping his opponent's knee. [23]
Duarte competed in the IBJJF World Championship 2023 on 3 and 4 June 2023 and won a silver medal in the super-heavyweight division and a bronze medal in the absolute division. [24] Duarte competed in the main event of Who's Number One 19 against Nicholas Meregali in the fifth match between them on 10 August 2023. [25] He lost the match by submission. [26]
Duarte was invited to compete in the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix 2023 for the grand prize of $40,000 on 1 September 2023. [27] He later withdrew from the event and was replaced by Paulo Merlin. [28] Duarte competed in an 8-man absolute grand prix tournament at Polaris 25 on 30 September 2023. [29] He won two matches by submission and won by decision to win the tournament. [30]
Duarte competed in the IBJJF No Gi Absolute Grand Prix on February 29, 2024. [31] Duarte beat all three of his opponents and won the tournament. [32]
Duarte competed against Pouya Rahmani at Pit Submission Series 4 on April 20, 2024. [33] He lost the match by unanimous decision. [34]
Duarte is scheduled to compete against Luke Griffith in the co-main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 on May 15, 2024. [35] He lost the match see by submission. [36]
Duarte represented Team Kasai in the over 91kg division at the AIGA Champions League Brazil Qualifier 2024 on May 23-25. [37] He did not compete in the qualifying round but Team Kasai won the tournament. [38]
Duarte received an invite to compete in the under 99kg division of the 2024 ADCC World Championship on August 17-18, 2024. [39] He submitted Daniel Schuardt, Declan Moody, and Roberto Abreu to make it to the finals, where he submitted Rafael Lovato Jr to win the 99kg Championship. [40] He also entered the absolute division where he beat Dante Leon on points and submitted Diego 'Pato' Oliveira, Declan Moody, and Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu to win the absolute title. [41] He won ‘Best Athlete’ at the 2024 ADCC World Championship as a result. [42]
On 7 February 2020, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Duarte had tested positive for Ostarine following a post-match drug test at 2019 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship. [1] [2] [43] Duarte who was champion in heavyweight division for that year was stripped of his gold medal and banned from competing in IBJJF events for one year. [1] [2] [43] Duarte claimed the intake of Ostarine was not intentional. [2]
Main Achievements:
As black belt: [1]
Main Achievements:
In colored belts: [1]
Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Helio Gracie → Rolls Gracie → Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti → Alexandre Paiva → Fernando "Tererê" Augusto → André Galvao → Kaynan Duarte [1]
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