Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting or simply grappling, is a competitive martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates elements of various grappling arts such as various wrestling styles, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Submission wrestling is practiced both as a competitive sport and as a training method for self-defence and mixed martial arts (MMA).
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.
Kyra Gracie Guimarães is a Brazilian submission grappler and a 4th degree black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner. A member of the Gracie family and a highly decorated competitor, she is a four-time World Jiu-Jitsu champion and a three-time ADCC Submission Fighting World champion.
Roger Gracie is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner and coach.
Roberto "Spider" Traven is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist whose fighting style is based in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission wrestling. He was a sporty person growing up, it took him 16 years to find Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but straight away he picked up tuition with one of the most highly decorated coaches of all time, Romero Cavalcanti AKA “Jacaré”. His natural ability for BJJ was clear from the get-go and the fact that he was obstinate made a recipe for a good fighter. Training 3 times per day alongside other historical figures such as Fabio Gurgel, Leo Vieira, Jamelão and many others, Traven managed to reach the grade of black belt within 4 years, an almost record breaking time frame in BJJ.
Robert Lewis Drysdale is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under Léo Vieira, a retired mixed martial artist and an instructor at his own BJJ academy, "Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu". 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.
Alliance is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu association and the current defending World team champion, having won the titles at the World Championships from 2008 to 2023. They also won the World Championships back to back in 1998 and 1999. 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, also known as the "General", 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.
Hannette Staack is a Brazilian submission grappler and 4th degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt practitioner and coach. A three-time ADCC champion and five-time IBJJF World Champion, Staack is a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame and is regarded as one of the most accomplished female grapplers in the history of the sport.
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.
Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo, better known as Leandro Lo, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A record holder with eight IBJJF world championship titles in five different weight classes, as well as multiple wins at every major international tournament, Lo is considered one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu competitors of all time.
Lana Stefanac is an American mixed martial artist, grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and instructor. Stefanac is a World, Pan American, and US National Brazilian jiu-jitsu Champion in colored belts, she is a two-time black belt world champion and the first American woman to become world champion in both her weight class and in the Open class.
Tayane Porfírio de Araújo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) 4x World Championship black belt champion. In 2017 Porfirio realized the IBJJF Grand Slam after winning her weight category and the absolute category at all 4 major Gi Championships: World Championship, European Open Championship, Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship and Brazilian Nationals Championship.
Beatriz Mesquita also known as Bia Mesquita is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor with arguably the best competitive record in both Gi and Nogi of all time having won 24 titles at black belt level in the 4 major Gi Championships. With 10 gold medals, as of Worlds 2021, she holds the record for the most IBJJF World Championship titles at black belt level and is a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame.
AJ Agazarm is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist.
Ffion Davies is a Welsh submission grappler, mixed martial artist and a world-champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor. She is a multiple winner of the IBJJF World Championship, including the no-gi championship in 2023 in both the 61kg and absolute divisions.
Mayssa Bastos is a Brazilian submission grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. Bastos has won almost every single major jiu-jitsu tournaments in both Gi and No-Gi. She is the current roosterweight World Champion, World No-Gi Champion, Pan American Champion and the light-featherweight European Champion.
Micael Ferreira Galvão, commonly known as Mica Galvão, is a submission grappler, Luta Livre and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor from the Brazilian state of Amazonas. A highly decorated athlete competing since childhood, Galvão was promoted to black belt in 2021, at the age of 17, less than three years after reaching blue belt. In 2022 Galvão won the 2022 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship before testing positive for a banned substance and receiving a one-year suspension ban.
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.
Ana Carolina Vieira is a Brazilian grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and competitor. A multiple-time World and Brazilian champion in the lower belts divisions, Vieira is a five-time black belt IBJJF World champion, four-time IBJJF Pan Champion, two-time Abu Dhabi World Pro Champion and European champion. She is the founder of Aviv jiu-jitsu.
