Date founded | 2013 [1] |
---|---|
Country of origin | USA |
Founder | Robert Drysdale, Rodrigo Cavaca |
Current head | Robert Drysdale [2] |
Arts taught | Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Grappling |
Practitioners | |
Official website | zenithbjj |
Zenith BJJ is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu association and team started in 2013 by black belt World champions Robert Drysdale and Rodrigo Cavaca. [3] Drysdale runs Zenith Las Vegas and Cavaca runs Zenith Santos in Brazil, with more affiliates in the US, Canada, Central America, South America, Europe and Australia. [4]
Zenith BJJ was established in 2013 after Rodrigo Cavaca left the Checkmat team to start a new team alongside his friend Robert Drysdale. [5] Both founders were teammates and trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu together at Brasa Clube de Jiujitsu in Brazil. [6]
The Zenith BJJ main academy and headquarters is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. [2] Zenith BJJ was one of the top 10 teams of the women's division at the 2021 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. [7]
A list of current and former members:
Brazilian Top Team (BTT) is an academy and team specialized in Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts. It was established in April 2000 by Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Libório, Mário Sperry and Luis Roberto Duarte, former members of the Carlson Gracie Academy, to develop and create new training techniques for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts.
Marcelo Garcia is a Brazilian submission grappler and a 4th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. A highly decorated competitor, Garcia is widely considered to be one of the best grapplers in the world and arguably the best pound for pound submission grappler. Holding 5 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship and 4 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship titles, Garcia is a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame and the third BJJ athlete to be inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame.
Robert Lewis Drysdale is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under Léo Vieira, a retired undefeated mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ academy. Having won multiple World Championships, he was referred to by Vice magazine as "America's jiu-jitsu superhero", regarded by BJJ Heroes as "the most accomplished American grappler of his generation" and as the best Submission Wrestler in the World by Gracie Magazine.
Fábio Duca Gurgel do Amaral is a former Mixed martial arts fighter and 7th degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach.
Alliance is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu association. Alliance was founded by Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti and his students: Fabio Gurgel, Alexandre Paiva, and Fernando Gurgel. Alliance Global headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Alliance Martial Arts Academy, where "Jacare" is the head instructor. Fabio Gurgel is the co-leader of Alliance and the head instructor at Alliance São Paulo. Alexandre "Gigi" Paiva heads the third main Alliance academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Luanna Alzuguir is a Brazilian submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. Alzuguir is a 5x world jiu-jitsu champion, an ADCC submission fighting world champion and a member of the IBJJF hall of fame, she is known as one of the main figures in women's jiu-jitsu history.
Checkmat is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy and team started in 2008 by Leo Vieira, who leads Checkmat with his brothers Ricardo Vieira and Leandro Vieira. It is headquartered in Long Beach, California, USA.
Leonardo Alcantara Vieira commonly known as Léo Vieira or Leozinho is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor.
Marcus Vinícius Oliveira de Almeida, also known as Buchecha is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and 4th-degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner.
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.
Luiz França Filho (1910–1982) was a Brazilian martial artist and one of the primary founders of a non-Gracie lineage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). França learned from Soshihiro Satake, Geo Omori, and Mitsuyo Maeda, three Japanese who had immigrated to Brazil and from whom he learned Kodokan judo. This assertion is disputed by some.
Fight Sports is a Grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy and team based out of Miami, Florida. It was founded in 2011 by multiple time world champion Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu. Fight Sport's competition team includes a number of jiu-jitsu's top competitors, including many ADCC qualifiers. Fight Sports is also an internationally known Jiu Jitsu affiliation with 32 schools worldwide.
Alessandra "Leka" Vieira is a submission grappler and a 6th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of women's Brazilian jiu-jitsu, she became in 1999 the first-ever female black belt World champion.
Flavio Behring is a Grand Master, 9th-degree red belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A student under Hélio Gracie he began his career in 1947 and is one of the longest practitioner and coach of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The World Jiu-Jitsu Cup, CBJJO World Jiu-Jitsu Cup or CBJJO World Cup, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament established in 2002 as an alternative to the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Its last edition took place in 2007 in Teresópolis, Brazil.
Rose El Sharouni is a Dutch born Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and competitor. A two-time World Champion in coloured belts, she is an IBJJF black belt World, European Open and Pan American medallist.
The Grand Slam in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is the achievement of winning all four major IBJJF tournaments in a calendar year. The four Grand Slam tournaments are the World IBJJF Championship, the European IBJJF Championship, Pan IBJJF Championship and the CBJJ Brazilian National Championship. Winning all four tournaments within a single year is widely considered the most prestigious accomplishment in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition.
Andressa Cintra a Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st deg. black belt athlete. A three-time IBJJF World and four-time CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Champion in colored belts; Cintra is a four-time black belt World Champion. Pan American and Brasileiro Champion. Cintra is ranked No. 1 in the middleweight 2022–2023 IBJJF Gi Ranking.
Fellipe Andrew Silva is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca. He is the 2021 World Champion in the absolute division and 2023 World Champion in the 94 kg division. He is Euros Champion in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. He is the Pan Champion of 2019, 2020, and 2021. Andrew was among six champions in the inaugural IBJJF Crown in 2023. In the lead-up to his championship wins, he was training at Zenith Academy HQ under Robert Drysdale. He later moved to Alliance Jiu Jitsu, and then Art of Jiu Jitsu in 2024. In September 2024 Andrew was stripped of his Pan Ams medal and accepted two years of ineligibility for failing anti-doping tests.