This page's infobox may require expansion, verification, or otherwise need cleanup.(June 2023) |
Keenan Cornelius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Keenan Kai-James Cornelius 25 February 1992 Hilo, Hawaii, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other names | Black Belt Hunter [1] Cat boy Keenus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | San Diego, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Style | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fighting out of | San Diego, California, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | BJJ black belt (under Andre Galvao) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is an American martial artist. His competitive achievements include what is called the Double Grand Slam in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won double gold medals at four major tournaments: the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Pan-American Championship, European Open Championship, and Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship - as a purple belt. [33] He is also known for his creation of guard techniques such as the Worm Guard. [34]
Cornelius's first exposure to martial arts training began at a young age, under his step-father, martial arts teacher Tom Callos, who was B.J. Penn's first Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor. [35] At the age of 14, he began casual grappling training with friends. Shortly thereafter, he began receiving formal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction under Cassio Werneck, then training for three years under BJ Penn, before ultimately joining with Team Lloyd Irvin. Despite his high-level victories as a purple belt and above, Keenan claims to have had a poor competitive showing early in his career, prior to his joining Team Lloyd Irvin, a move which Keenan held responsible for his later success. [36]
On February 28, 2012, Keenan won the Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Montreal Purple belt +74 kg absolute division. [37] In April 2012 Keenan competed in the World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup, winning his division (-82 kg.) and earning a bronze in the absolute division. [38] On June 26, 2012, Keenan was promoted to brown belt under Lloyd Irvin. [39] On February 27, 2013, Keenan announced his split from Team Lloyd Irvin. A few days later, it was officially announced that he would be joining Atos Jiu-Jitsu. [40] [41] After his transition to Atos, Keenan continued his run as arguably the most accomplished brown belt in the history of the sport, winning nearly every major tournament at his weight and open class with the only exception being the 2013 IBJJF Brown Belt Absolute Division where he placed second. [42] On September 14, 2013, Keenan was promoted to black belt under André Galvão. [43] On December 8, 2013, Keenan won the medium-heavy/heavyweight division of the 2nd IBJJF Pro League for the prize of $5,000 by defeating Diego Gamoral and Jackson Souza. [44]
On March 29, 2014, Keenan was scheduled to face Vinny Magalhaes in Metamoris III. However, Vinny was forced to withdraw before the match, being hospitalized with a MRSA infection. He was replaced by Rickson-trained black belt Kevin Casey. The match ended as a win for Keenan, using 50/50 guard and getting a submission with an inside heel hook. [45] In April 2014 Keenan competed in the 2014 Abu Dhabi BJJ World Pro Championship, winning bronze in the black belt adult 94 kg division. [46] On August 9, 2014, Keenan competed against Magalhaes at Metamoris IV. The match ended in a draw. On November 22, 2014, Keenan competed against Yuri Simoes at Metamoris V. The match ended in a draw. On January 10, 2015, Keenan competed against Dean Lister at Polaris Pro Grappling. He won the match with a reverse triangle choke from back control.
Cornelius was set to fight Gabriel Almeida in the main event of Fight 2 Win 149 on August 14, 2020, but was forced to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Manuel Ribamar. [47]
In 2021, Cornelius was unable to compete and was forced to withdraw from a match against Haisam Rida on Who's Number One [48] as a result of an aggravation of an old back injury suffered when deadlifting. [49]
After a falling out with his long time gym ATOS, [50] Keenan decided to open his own gym and fight team. On August 6, 2019, he announced he would open Legion Academy in San Diego CA. [51] [52] Since launching the Legion AJJ academy, Keenan Cornelius has attracted some of ATOS' top athletes to his team including Andris Brunovskis and Darin Conner DeAngelis. [53]
On January 19, 2021, Cornelius awarded his first BJJ black belt to long-time training partner and Slovenian Judo black belt Miha Perhavec. [54]
Legion Jiu-Jitsu fielded a team at Subversiv 3 on August 28, 2020, that consisted of Jacob Kassama, Michael Edgley, and Paige Ivette. [55] Their team lost 2-1 in the opening round against Fight Sports. [56]
The gym returned with a slightly different team at Subversiv 6 on October 16, 2021, that consisted of Sloan Clymer, Miha Perhavec, and Paige Ivette. This time they took second place, losing 2-1 in the final to Checkmat. [57]
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2021) |
Keenan is known in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community for his creation and successful use of a unique gi guard system. Nicknamed the Worm Guard by Galvão, Keenan ties his leg to his opponents hip and opposite leg with one hand and his opponent's loose lapel, locking them into place while leaving Keenan two free limbs to attack on one side. He and others have continued to iterate and invent techniques exploiting the lapels of the Gi jacket, a trend that is credited to Keenan's initial success with Worm Guard.
In 2013, Cornelius published a 5-part DVD set teaching concepts of his competition style. [58]
In 2016 Keenan Online, a membership site, began offering his curriculum. [59]
Roger Gracie is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner and coach.
Jonathan Torres, also known as "JT" Torres, is a Puerto Rican American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and submission grappler. He is known for a number of competitive accomplishments earned both prior to and following his promotion to black belt.
Michael Lee Fowler is an American martial artist who is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. In addition to a number of major competitive achievements, Fowler is notable for the speed at which he attained the rank and is, according to some sources, the 3rd fastest American on record to do so. He is head instructor at North Shore Jiu Jitsu Club in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
Kron Gracie is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, and instructor.
Lloyd Irvin Jr. is a mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt practitioner and coach. The founder of Team Lloyd Irvin, the first non-Brazilian team to take a world team title, he is the head coach to several champion grapplers.
Jeff Glover is an American submission wrestler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is known for his competitive achievements in both gi and no-gi competition.
Caio Terra is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor and world champion. Caio began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003 and received his black belt in 2006. His promotion to black belt is one of the quickest recorded in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu history.
Amaury Bitetti is a Brazilian mixed martial arts former fighter and promoter holding the rank of 7th degree black and red coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). Considered by many as one of the best BJJ competitors of all time, Bitetti is a two-time world jiu-jitsu champion in open weight, the first-ever to win the category, and a two-time Brazilian national champion. After competing in Vale Tudo / MMA Bitetti founded the MMA fight organization Bitetti Combate.
Jackson Sousa dos Santos is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling competitor and instructor. A winner of several major championships in coloured belts, such as IBJJF World Championship, IBJJF European Championship and CBJJ Brazilian Nationals; Sousa is a black belt World No-Gi champion, a 2 x European champion and a 3 x Pan No-Gi champion.
Paulo Henrique Bordignon Miyao is a Brazilian BJJ black belt with a notable competitive record. He and his brother João Miyao have a competitive rivalry with Keenan Cornelius: after several defeats to Cornelius in 2012, Paulo would go on to defeat Keenan at the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the brown belt absolute division, a remarkable feat for his given weight-class. Paulo trains under Cicero Costha alongside his brother João and world champion, Leandro Lo.
Gordon Ryan is an American submission grappler and 1st-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, considered by many to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his accomplishments and dominance. Ryan is a five–time ADCC World champion, two-time IBJJF No-Gi World champion and a four-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion.
Ffion Davies is a Welsh submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. She has won the World Championship twice. A member of Wales Judo National team when she was a junior, Davies holds a black belt in both BJJ and judo.
Tainan Dalpra Costa is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A winner of every major tournaments as a colored belt, Dalpra is a two-time World, Pan American, and European champion. Dalpra is ranked No. 1 in the middleweight 2022-2023 IBJJF Gi Ranking.
Rafaela Guedes is a Brazilian submission grappler, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt athlete. An IBJJF World champion at brown belt, Guedes is a two-time World No-Gi, Pan American black belt champion. Originally from Manaus, Brazil now fighting out of San Diego, California, Guedes is also the WNO women's heavyweight champion, a 2021 World jiu-jitsu double medallist and the 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting silver medallist.
Haisam Rida is a Ghanaian submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. A two-time Asian Open Champion and three-time JBJJF All Japan Champion in lower belt divisions, Rida is an ADCC 2022 Veteran and a black belt Pan-American No-GI silver medallist.
Kaynan Casemiro Duarte is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. Duarte is a two-time champion at both the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship and World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the Heavyweight division.
Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa, commonly known as Lucas 'Hulk' Barbosa, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA), submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor.
Elisabeth Clay is an American submission grappler, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and competitor.
The SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship commonly known as SJJIF Worlds is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held once every year by the Sport Jiu Jitsu International Federation (SJJIF), one of jiu-jitsu's international governing bodies with the mission to make Jiu-Jitsu an Olympic sport. The last edition of the championship took place in Long Beach, California in July 2022.
The IBJJF Grand Slam is a term in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when a competitor wins all four major annual IBJJF tournaments in a single year.