Featured
John Danaher
System architect · DDS / New Wave Jiu-Jitsu
45 contributors
The people who shaped
no-gi.
The coaches, competitors, and theorists whose work built modern submission grappling — their games expressed through invariants.
Showing 45 of 45 ·
Featured
Gordon Ryan
7× ADCC World Champion · 2017–2024
Featured
Marcelo Garcia
4× ADCC champion · −77kg dynasty
Featured
Roger Gracie
ADCC 2005 absolute · IBJJF Mundials titles
Featured
Dean Lister
ADCC 2003 absolute · the foot-lock generation
Featured
Lachlan Giles
ADCC 2019 absolute bronze · 3× heel hook
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Discipline
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Adele Fornarino
CompetitorAustralian competitor whose ADCC 2024 performance — gold in the −55kg division and gold in the women's absolute — produced one of the most-cited single.
Andre Galvao
Competitor2007–2022
6× ADCC champion · longest superfight reign
Beatriz Mesquita
Competitor2011–PRESENT
ADCC 2017 gold · multi IBJJF No-Gi Worlds
Braulio Estima
Competitor2005–2017
ADCC 2009 −88kg + absolute double gold
Craig Jones
Competitor2014–PRESENT
2× ADCC silver · B-Team founder · CJI
Danielle Kelly
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor, ONE Championship grappler, and the inaugural ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Champion.
Dean Lister
Competitor2001–2007
ADCC 2003 absolute · the foot-lock generation
Eddie Bravo
System architectAmerican no-gi system architect and tournament founder.
Eddie Cummings
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor whose EBI heel hook campaign in 2015–2016 operationalised the early Danaher Death Squad leg lock system in competition before.
Elisabeth Clay
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor and multiple ADCC medallist.
Ethan Crelinsten
CompetitorCanadian no-gi competitor and founding B-Team member whose game centres on leg entanglement entries chained into back attacks.
Ffion Davies
CompetitorWelsh no-gi competitor and ADCC champion at -60kg.
Garry Tonon
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor whose heel hook entry game and EBI dominance helped operationalise the early Danaher Death Squad leg lock system.
Georges St-Pierre
CompetitorCanadian MMA welterweight champion whose wrestling-and-pressure no-gi grappling game influenced a generation of grapplers outside pure submission.
Gordon Ryan
Competitor2014–PRESENT
7× ADCC World Champion · 2017–2024
Greg Souders
TheoristEcological dynamics · invariant methodology
Hélio Gracie
System architectBrazilian practitioner who refined the guard-based, leverage-dependent submission system that became the technical foundation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Jason Rau
CoachAmerican coach and instructional source whose mechanical articulation of guard and passing detail operates at a resolution suited to instructional.
Jean Jacques Machado
CompetitorBrazilian-American competitor and coach whose grip-independent guard game and submission hunting produced ADCC titles and lasting coaching influence.
John Danaher
System architectSystem architect · DDS / New Wave Jiu-Jitsu
Jozef Chen
System architectAmerican competitor and passing-system architect whose outside passing framework codified J-point camping and the high tripod pass.
Kade Ruotolo
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor and ADCC champion whose game integrates a wrestling-heavy entry system.
Kaynan Duarte
CompetitorBrazilian no-gi competitor and ADCC absolute champion.
Kazushi Sakuraba
Competitor1996–2015
Pride GP 1999–2003 · the Gracie Hunter
Ken Shamrock
CompetitorAmerican catch wrestler and Pancrase pioneer whose submission wrestling game bridged the catch wrestling tradition with the emerging no-gi submission.
Lachlan Giles
Competitor2014–PRESENT
ADCC 2019 absolute bronze · 3× heel hook
Marcelo Garcia
Competitor2003–2011
4× ADCC champion · −77kg dynasty
Mario Sperry
CompetitorBrazilian competitor and coach whose top pressure game and Vale Tudo background made him one of the dominant figures of early ADCC competition.
Masakatsu Funaki
CompetitorJapanese submission wrestler and Pancrase co-founder whose shoot wrestling system was one of the earliest structured no-gi submission disciplines.
Mateusz Szczecinski
CoachPolish coach and instructional source whose articulation of mechanical detail across guard, passing, and submission systems is widely cited.
Mica Galvao
CompetitorBrazilian no-gi competitor and ADCC champion.
Mikey Musumeci
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor and ONE Championship grappling champion.
Nathiely de Jesus
CompetitorBrazilian no-gi competitor and ADCC competitor at +65kg.
Nicky Rodriguez
Competitor2019–PRESENT
ADCC 2019 −99kg silver as a BJJ blue belt
Nicky Ryan
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor who emerged as a teenage prodigy through the Danaher Death Squad before later transitioning to the B-Team.
Renzo Gracie
Coach1996–PRESENT
Founder · Renzo Gracie Academy NYC (1996)
Ricardo Arona
CompetitorBrazilian no-gi competitor and multiple ADCC medallist known for top pressure and leg lock integration in the early-to-mid-2000s ADCC era.
Rickson Gracie
Competitor1980–2000
Vale Tudo / Pride · pressure-and-back-control architect
Roger Gracie
Competitor2003–2017
ADCC 2005 absolute · IBJJF Mundials titles
Ronaldo Souza
CompetitorBrazilian competitor whose mid-2000s ADCC record — multiple weight-class medals plus a 2005 absolute silver — represents the high-water mark of pure.
Royce Gracie
CompetitorBrazilian competitor whose performances at UFC 1, 2, and 4 established BJJ's credibility in no-gi submission contexts.
Royler Gracie
Competitor1999–2014
3× ADCC −66kg champion (1999/2000/2001)
Shintaro Higashi
CompetitorJapanese-American judoka and no-gi competitor whose game shows high-percentage judo throws transferring cleanly into no-gi grappling.
Tye Ruotolo
CompetitorAmerican no-gi competitor whose game is centred on scramble-based entries, dynamic position changes, and submission-hunting from both top and bottom.
Xande Ribeiro
Competitor2005–2019
ADCC −99kg gold 2007 + 2009
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