I’m talking about the teams that built up
americans on American soil. There are a couple of teams that come to mind
If we are counting colored belts I'm going to say (in order):
Lloyd Irvin
Marcelo Garcia
Renzo Gracie
Ribeiro
The word "champion" can mean a lot of things. Throw 10p in there for no gi
Lloyd Irvin and it's not even close, unfortunately
Lloyd
It would be really cool to see a complete list of American world champions at the purple, brown, and black belt level. I think there are less than you'd think, as the podium is still overwhelmingly dominated by Brazilians.
lloyd has to be up there
So I had some downtime at work and made a list of all purple-black belt IBJJF world champions since 2010.
Lloyd Irvin: 11
Alliance: 7
Atos: 6
I just went off of who I knew was American, or which name looked American. There were quite a bit of Europeans in there as well. I definitely could have missed something. Check it out:
2010
Purple
Andris Brunovskis (Lloyd Irvin)
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
Alex Baulding (Alliance)
Willie Leondard (Lloyd Irvin)
Brown Belt
N/A
Black Belt
N/A
2011
Purple
Gianni Grippo (Gracie Elite)
Chris Visentin (Alliance)
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Brent Blackwell (Linic MMA)
Brown
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
James Harbison (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2012
Purple
Jordan Landry (Gracie Elite)
Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) (weight and absolute)
Manuel Diaz (Gracie Elite)
Brown
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/a
2013
Purple
Michael Barnato (Gracie Elite)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tye Ryan (Lloyd Irvin)
Nick Schrock (Gracie Humaita)
Brown
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
Black
N/A
2014
Purple
Michael Musumeci (Atos)
Richard Slomba Jr. (Atos)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Brown
Ram Ananda (Alliance)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tim Spriggs (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2015
Purple
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Dominique Bell (Atos)
Brown
Michael Musimeci (ATT)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Black
N/A
2016
Purple
N/A
Brown
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2017
Purple
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Brown
N/A
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
2018
Purple
Mason Fowler (Dethrone BJJ)
Brown
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Easters -So I had some downtime at work and made a list of all purple-black belt IBJJF world champions since 2010.
Lloyd Irvin: 11
Alliance: 7
Atos: 6
I just went off of who I knew was American, or which name looked American. There were quite a bit of Europeans in there as well. I definitely could have missed something. Check it out:
2010
Purple
Andris Brunovskis (Lloyd Irvin)
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
Alex Baulding (Alliance)
Willie Leondard (Lloyd Irvin)
Brown Belt
N/A
Black Belt
N/A
2011
Purple
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Chris Visentin (Alliance)
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Brent Blackwell (Linic MMA)
Brown
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
James Harbison (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2012
Purple
Jordan Landry (Gracie Elite)
Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) (weight and absolute)
Manuel Diaz (Gracie Elite)
Brown
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/a
2013
Purple
Michael Barnato (Gracie Elite)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tye Ryan (Lloyd Irvin)
Nick Schrock (Gracie Humaita)
Brown
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
Black
N/A
2014
Purple
Michael Musumeci (Atos)
Richard Slomba Jr. (Atos)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Brown
Ram Ananda (Alliance)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tim Spriggs (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2015
Purple
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Dominique Bell (Atos)
Brown
Michael Musimeci (ATT)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Black
N/A
2016
Purple
N/A
Brown
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2017
Purple
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Brown
N/A
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
2018
Purple
Mason Fowler (Dethrone BJJ)
Brown
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
That is awesome
Gracie University
Easters -So I had some downtime at work and made a list of all purple-black belt IBJJF world champions since 2010.
Lloyd Irvin: 11
Alliance: 7
Atos: 6
I just went off of who I knew was American, or which name looked American. There were quite a bit of Europeans in there as well. I definitely could have missed something. Check it out:
2010
Purple
Andris Brunovskis (Lloyd Irvin)
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
Alex Baulding (Alliance)
Willie Leondard (Lloyd Irvin)
Brown Belt
N/A
Black Belt
N/A
2011
Purple
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Chris Visentin (Alliance)
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Brent Blackwell (Linic MMA)
Brown
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
James Harbison (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2012
Purple
Jordan Landry (Gracie Elite)
Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) (weight and absolute)
Manuel Diaz (Gracie Elite)
Brown
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/a
2013
Purple
Michael Barnato (Gracie Elite)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tye Ryan (Lloyd Irvin)
Nick Schrock (Gracie Humaita)
Brown
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
Black
N/A
2014
Purple
Michael Musumeci (Atos)
Richard Slomba Jr. (Atos)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Brown
Ram Ananda (Alliance)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tim Spriggs (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2015
Purple
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Dominique Bell (Atos)
Brown
Michael Musimeci (ATT)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Black
N/A
2016
Purple
N/A
Brown
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2017
Purple
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Brown
N/A
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
2018
Purple
Mason Fowler (Dethrone BJJ)
Brown
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
The list expands even more if you add no-gi world champs
Shane Hill is such a beast. Would love to see him v Rafa
didnt realize shane hill was so dominant coming up, i wonder what he did at blue belt. what happened to jordan shulz? i think he went to aoj? has he competed at black belt?
michael liera was another killer at the colored belts.
Missing Dominyka Obelenyte
Easters -So I had some downtime at work and made a list of all purple-black belt IBJJF world champions since 2010.
Lloyd Irvin: 11
Alliance: 7
Atos: 6
I just went off of who I knew was American, or which name looked American. There were quite a bit of Europeans in there as well. I definitely could have missed something. Check it out:
2010
Purple
Andris Brunovskis (Lloyd Irvin)
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
Alex Baulding (Alliance)
Willie Leondard (Lloyd Irvin)
Brown Belt
N/A
Black Belt
N/A
2011
Purple
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Chris Visentin (Alliance)
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Brent Blackwell (Linic MMA)
Brown
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
James Harbison (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2012
Purple
Jordan Landry (Gracie Elite)
Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) (weight and absolute)
Manuel Diaz (Gracie Elite)
Brown
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/a
2013
Purple
Michael Barnato (Gracie Elite)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tye Ryan (Lloyd Irvin)
Nick Schrock (Gracie Humaita)
Brown
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
Black
N/A
2014
Purple
Michael Musumeci (Atos)
Richard Slomba Jr. (Atos)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Brown
Ram Ananda (Alliance)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tim Spriggs (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2015
Purple
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Dominique Bell (Atos)
Brown
Michael Musimeci (ATT)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Black
N/A
2016
Purple
N/A
Brown
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2017
Purple
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Brown
N/A
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
2018
Purple
Mason Fowler (Dethrone BJJ)
Brown
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Great list and fantastic work. I'm surprised to see how few there actually are. Would be interesting to see a similar list with all non-brazillians.
Also, I'm not sure at what point Grippo left RGA, but I believe he won at least one of his championships while competing for them.
Wutang -Missing Dominyka Obelenyte
Didn’t include ladies. Not because they don’t count, just didn’t want to put in that much time
I think the biggest surprise to me was how it appears there are less and less American champs at colored belts. I think more Brazilians are moving to the US earlier on and can get to Long Beach easier.
Jason Scully -Easters -So I had some downtime at work and made a list of all purple-black belt IBJJF world champions since 2010.
Lloyd Irvin: 11
Alliance: 7
Atos: 6
I just went off of who I knew was American, or which name looked American. There were quite a bit of Europeans in there as well. I definitely could have missed something. Check it out:
2010
Purple
Andris Brunovskis (Lloyd Irvin)
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
Alex Baulding (Alliance)
Willie Leondard (Lloyd Irvin)
Brown Belt
N/A
Black Belt
N/A
2011
Purple
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Chris Visentin (Alliance)
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Brent Blackwell (Linic MMA)
Brown
Jordan Schulz (Alliance)
James Harbison (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2012
Purple
Jordan Landry (Gracie Elite)
Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) (weight and absolute)
Manuel Diaz (Gracie Elite)
Brown
DJ Jackson (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/a
2013
Purple
Michael Barnato (Gracie Elite)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tye Ryan (Lloyd Irvin)
Nick Schrock (Gracie Humaita)
Brown
Gianni Grippo (Alliance/Marcelo Garcia)
Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
Black
N/A
2014
Purple
Michael Musumeci (Atos)
Richard Slomba Jr. (Atos)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Brown
Ram Ananda (Alliance)
Michael Liera Jr. (Atos)
Tim Spriggs (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2015
Purple
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Dominique Bell (Atos)
Brown
Michael Musimeci (ATT)
Edwin Najmi (Gracie Barra)
Black
N/A
2016
Purple
N/A
Brown
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
Black
N/A
2017
Purple
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Brown
N/A
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
2018
Purple
Mason Fowler (Dethrone BJJ)
Brown
Devhonte Johnson (Unity)
Black
Michael Musumeci (Brasa CTA)
Shane Hill-Taylor (Lloyd Irvin)
The list expands even more if you add no-gi world champs
I’m sketchy on including no gi worlds. It’s really small in comparison to gi worlds. The Brazilians don’t really come unless they’re already on the US, and even then the big names don’t really come out. But I guess it doesn’t hurt
Gianni was RGA at the time he won those
people are always saying how black belt word champ is the only one that counts but i think theyre not realizing how competitive worlds is at the colored belts. it might not be black belt but if you were an ibjjf adult world champ at any belt blue and above that is very impressive. theres blue belt divisions with over 100 competitors.
so yeah we can all agree that adult black belt is the one that counts but we shouldnt take anything away from the colored belts. especially now, this last year i feel like had the most talented colored belts ever. i feel like a lot of them are at a black belt level even. and just seeing how few americans there are winning at the colored belts should mean something, not anyone can win gold at worlds.
thanks for compiling that list. it shows a lot.
Animal Mother -Gianni was RGA at the time he won those
You are correct for 2011 purple belt. I edited. Listed as Gracie Elite which I believe is Renzo, Ralph, and Cesar Gracie.
2013 brown is listed as Alliance