Judo blackbelts in MMA

[MMAFanCal]

Dricus DuPlessis.

Started Judo at age 4 and was a blackbelt at age 14.

 

[Hotora86]

Dricus DuPlessis.

Started Judo at age 4 and was a blackbelt at age 14.

Can't find any source for that, can You help me out please?

 

[Vairloff]

Following the warm reception of my comprehensive Karate blackbelts in MMA thread I have decided to do the same for my other favorite martial art - Judo.

Below You will find a list of Judo blackbelts (with their respective Dan rank) who have fought in MMA. I have collected 109 Judoka so far. Please let me know in you find any inaccuracies in the list or notice that any Judoka is missing - I will gladly correct and add if applicable.

It would be great if this thread also becomes a starting point for discussion about Judo's history and usefulness in MMA - like it happened in the Karate thread. Thanks and enjoy!

View attachment 707265View attachment 707269View attachment 707267
Fedor Emelianenko / Ronda Rousey / Satoshi Ishii

NAME DAN
Akira Kikuchi 3
Akira Shoji 1
Alexander Emelianenko 1
Alexandru Lungu 5
Alida Gray 1
Amanda Ribas 1
Anderson Silva 1
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1
Antonio Silva 1
Baissangour Chamsoudinov 1
Becky Levi 2
Benoit Saint-Denis 1
Blagoy Ivanov 1
Bojan Mihajlovic 1
Brent Weedman 1
Brian Johnston 1
Casey Kenney 2
Chang Hyun Kim 1
Christophe Leininger 4
Daiju Takase 2
Dan Kelly 4
David Baron 1
Denis Lavrentyev 4
Dokonjonosuke Mishima 1
Don Frye 2
Dong Hyun Kim 4
Edson Carvahlo 6
Emmanuel Fernandez 1
Erik Paulson 1
Fabricio Werdum 1
Fedor Emelianenko 1
Ferrid Kheder 1
Frank Trigg 2
Frederic Fernandez 1
Gegard Mousasi 1
Hayato Sakurai 1
Hector Lombard 4
Hidehiko Yoshida 6
Hiroshi Izumi 1
Hirotaka Yokoi 1
Igor Zinoviev 1
Jae Sun Lee 1
Jerome le Banner 1
Jim Wallhead 1
Joe Charles 1
Joel Gerson 1
John Dixson 1
Jung Bu-kyung 1
Justin Bruckmann 1
Jutaro Nakao 1
Karo Parisyan 1
Katsunori Kikuno 1
Kayla Harrison 6
Kazuhiro Nakamura 3
Kazuo Misaki 3
Keita Nakamura 1
Khabib Nurmagomedov 1
Kim Min-soo 4
Koji Komuro 6
Kron Gracie 1
Kuniyoshi Hironaka 1
Leonardo Leite 1
Lucas Predmore 1
Makoto Takimoto 1
Manvel Gamburyan 2
Maxim Tarasov 1
Megumi Yabushita 1
Merab Dvalishvili 1
Michihiro Omigawa 3
Naoya Ogawa 1
Norman Parke 1
Olivier Aubin-Mercier 1
Paulo Filho 1
Pawel Nastula 6
Rameau Sokoudjou 2
Remco Pardoel 1
Rhadi Ferguson 1
Richard Crunkilton 1
Rick Hawn 1
Rickson Gracie 1
Robert LaLonde 1
Ronaldo Souza 1
Ronda Rousey 6
Ryuichi Murata 1
Sanae Kikuta 1
Satoru Kitaoka 1
Satoshi Ishii 6
Shinobu Kandori 1
Shinya Aoki 1
Shonie Carter 1
Shungo Oyama 1
Svetlana Goundarenko 1
Tatsuya Mizuno 3
Taylan Yuasa 2
Tetsuya Yamada 1
Tsuyoshi Kosaka 4
Valentina Shevchenko 1
Valery Pliev 1
Viktor Tatarkin 1
Vitaly Minakov 1
Vitor Belfort 1
Yoon Dong-sik 3
Yoshihiro Akiyama 3
Yoshihisa Yamamoto 1
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 4
Yuki Nakai 1
Yuriy Kochkine 1
Yushin Okami 1
Yuya Shirai 1

Paweł Nastula is 7 dan.
Polski Zwiazek Judo https://share.google/4iNNlzKViZWVaLPT5
And Atlanta 1996 gold medalist

 

[MMAFanCal]

Can't find any source for that, can You help me out please?

There are lots of sources. Dricus has spoken about it in many interviews. I am surprised you did not find any references as they are everywhere. You might need to find the interviews where Dricus talks about his childhood where he talks about Judo and Rugby as the two primary sports he did since age 5. He was a black belt in Judo by his early teens and competed in South African Nationals before going to no-gi wrestling at age 12 and then went on to K-1 kickboxing with a record of 33-0.

You can see his Judo where he used a Judo throw in round 5 to take Khamzat down.

Basically, the backstory is, his parents wanted to teach their kids self-defense from an early age in crime-ridden South Africa so, all of his brothers and him were enrolled in Judo at a very early age (5 for Dricus). His older brothers were all national champions in Judo and Dricus also competed in the nationals till his early teens.

I found theses pictures of DuPlessis as a child competing in a Judo competitions in South Africa

 

[Hotora86]

Paweł Nastula is 7 dan.
Polski Zwiazek Judo https://share.google/4iNNlzKViZWVaLPT5
And Atlanta 1996 gold medalist

Thanks so much! I appreciate the correction and source.

 

[Hotora86]

There are lots of sources. Dricus has spoken about it in many interviews. I am surprised you did not find any references as they are everywhere. You might need to find the interviews where Dricus talks about his childhood where he talks about Judo and Rugby as the two primary sports he did since age 5. He was a black belt in Judo by his early teens and competed in South African Nationals before going to no-gi wrestling at age 12 and then went on to K-1 kickboxing with a record of 33-0.

You can see his Judo where he used a Judo throw in round 5 to take Khamzat down.

Basically, the backstory is, his parents wanted to teach their kids self-defense from an early age in crime-ridden South Africa so, all of his brothers and him were enrolled in Judo at a very early age (5 for Dricus). His older brothers were all national champions in Judo and Dricus also competed in the nationals till his early teens.

I found theses pictures of DuPlessis as a child competing in a Judo competitions in South Africa

View attachment 1110894

View attachment 1110893

View attachment 1110895

Absolutely, I've seen multiple sources where DDP talks about Judo etc but no legit source where it would be proven that he holds a BLACK BELT - which would qualify him for my list.

 

[Vegeta]

Following the warm reception of my comprehensive Karate blackbelts in MMA thread I have decided to do the same for my other favorite martial art - Judo.

Below You will find a list of Judo blackbelts (with their respective Dan rank) who have fought in MMA. I have collected 109 Judoka so far. Please let me know in you find any inaccuracies in the list or notice that any Judoka is missing - I will gladly correct and add if applicable.

It would be great if this thread also becomes a starting point for discussion about Judo's history and usefulness in MMA - like it happened in the Karate thread. Thanks and enjoy!

View attachment 707265View attachment 707269View attachment 707267
Fedor Emelianenko / Ronda Rousey / Satoshi Ishii

NAME DAN
Akira Kikuchi 3
Akira Shoji 1
Alexander Emelianenko 1
Alexandru Lungu 5
Alida Gray 1
Amanda Ribas 1
Anderson Silva 1
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1
Antonio Silva 1
Baissangour Chamsoudinov 1
Becky Levi 2
Benoit Saint-Denis 1
Blagoy Ivanov 1
Bojan Mihajlovic 1
Brent Weedman 1
Brian Johnston 1
Casey Kenney 2
Chang Hyun Kim 1
Christophe Leininger 4
Daiju Takase 2
Dan Kelly 4
David Baron 1
Denis Lavrentyev 4
Dokonjonosuke Mishima 1
Don Frye 2
Dong Hyun Kim 4
Edson Carvahlo 6
Emmanuel Fernandez 1
Erik Paulson 1
Fabricio Werdum 1
Fedor Emelianenko 1
Ferrid Kheder 1
Frank Trigg 2
Frederic Fernandez 1
Gegard Mousasi 1
Hayato Sakurai 1
Hector Lombard 4
Hidehiko Yoshida 6
Hiroshi Izumi 1
Hirotaka Yokoi 1
Igor Zinoviev 1
Jae Sun Lee 1
Jerome le Banner 1
Jim Wallhead 1
Joe Charles 1
Joel Gerson 1
John Dixson 1
Jung Bu-kyung 1
Justin Bruckmann 1
Jutaro Nakao 1
Karo Parisyan 1
Katsunori Kikuno 1
Kayla Harrison 6
Kazuhiro Nakamura 3
Kazuo Misaki 3
Keita Nakamura 1
Khabib Nurmagomedov 1
Kim Min-soo 4
Koji Komuro 6
Kron Gracie 1
Kuniyoshi Hironaka 1
Leonardo Leite 1
Lucas Predmore 1
Makoto Takimoto 1
Manvel Gamburyan 2
Maxim Tarasov 1
Megumi Yabushita 1
Merab Dvalishvili 1
Michihiro Omigawa 3
Naoya Ogawa 1
Norman Parke 1
Olivier Aubin-Mercier 1
Paulo Filho 1
Pawel Nastula 7
Rameau Sokoudjou 2
Remco Pardoel 1
Rhadi Ferguson 1
Richard Crunkilton 1
Rick Hawn 1
Rickson Gracie 1
Robert LaLonde 1
Ronaldo Souza 1
Ronda Rousey 6
Ryuichi Murata 1
Sanae Kikuta 1
Satoru Kitaoka 1
Satoshi Ishii 6
Shinobu Kandori 1
Shinya Aoki 1
Shonie Carter 1
Shungo Oyama 1
Svetlana Goundarenko 1
Tatsuya Mizuno 3
Taylan Yuasa 2
Tetsuya Yamada 1
Tsuyoshi Kosaka 4
Valentina Shevchenko 1
Valery Pliev 1
Viktor Tatarkin 1
Vitaly Minakov 1
Vitor Belfort 1
Yoon Dong-sik 3
Yoshihiro Akiyama 3
Yoshihisa Yamamoto 1
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 4
Yuki Nakai 1
Yuriy Kochkine 1
Yushin Okami 1
Yuya Shirai 1

Great post TS, thanks.
RDR is a black belt.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Stuart Austin, the fighter that dominated Aspinall in grappling, is a Judo black belt.

 

[Greyscale]

There is a massive up and comer at 170 pounds, Erick Silva.

 

[whooty]

There is a massive up and comer at 170 pounds, Erick Silva.

Go easy, don't blow him up yet, he's just a prospect

 

[SuperAlly]

Following the warm reception of my comprehensive Karate blackbelts in MMA thread I have decided to do the same for my other favorite martial art - Judo.

Below You will find a list of Judo blackbelts (with their respective Dan rank) who have fought in MMA. I have collected 109 Judoka so far. Please let me know in you find any inaccuracies in the list or notice that any Judoka is missing - I will gladly correct and add if applicable.

It would be great if this thread also becomes a starting point for discussion about Judo's history and usefulness in MMA - like it happened in the Karate thread. Thanks and enjoy!

View attachment 707265View attachment 707269View attachment 707267
Fedor Emelianenko / Ronda Rousey / Satoshi Ishii

NAME DAN
Akira Kikuchi 3
Akira Shoji 1
Alexander Emelianenko 1
Alexandru Lungu 5
Alida Gray 1
Amanda Ribas 1
Anderson Silva 1
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1
Antonio Silva 1
Baissangour Chamsoudinov 1
Becky Levi 2
Benoit Saint-Denis 1
Blagoy Ivanov 1
Bojan Mihajlovic 1
Brent Weedman 1
Brian Johnston 1
Casey Kenney 2
Chang Hyun Kim 1
Christophe Leininger 4
Daiju Takase 2
Dan Kelly 4
David Baron 1
Denis Lavrentyev 4
Dokonjonosuke Mishima 1
Don Frye 2
Dong Hyun Kim 4
Edson Carvahlo 6
Emmanuel Fernandez 1
Erik Paulson 1
Fabricio Werdum 1
Fedor Emelianenko 1
Ferrid Kheder 1
Frank Trigg 2
Frederic Fernandez 1
Gegard Mousasi 1
Hayato Sakurai 1
Hector Lombard 4
Hidehiko Yoshida 6
Hiroshi Izumi 1
Hirotaka Yokoi 1
Igor Zinoviev 1
Jae Sun Lee 1
Jerome le Banner 1
Jim Wallhead 1
Joe Charles 1
Joel Gerson 1
John Dixson 1
Jung Bu-kyung 1
Justin Bruckmann 1
Jutaro Nakao 1
Karo Parisyan 1
Katsunori Kikuno 1
Kayla Harrison 6
Kazuhiro Nakamura 3
Kazuo Misaki 3
Keita Nakamura 1
Khabib Nurmagomedov 1
Kim Min-soo 4
Koji Komuro 6
Kron Gracie 1
Kuniyoshi Hironaka 1
Leonardo Leite 1
Lucas Predmore 1
Makoto Takimoto 1
Manvel Gamburyan 2
Maxim Tarasov 1
Megumi Yabushita 1
Merab Dvalishvili 1
Michihiro Omigawa 3
Naoya Ogawa 1
Norman Parke 1
Olivier Aubin-Mercier 1
Paulo Filho 1
Pawel Nastula 7
Rameau Sokoudjou 2
Remco Pardoel 1
Rhadi Ferguson 1
Richard Crunkilton 1
Rick Hawn 1
Rickson Gracie 1
Robert LaLonde 1
Ronaldo Souza 1
Ronda Rousey 6
Ryuichi Murata 1
Sanae Kikuta 1
Satoru Kitaoka 1
Satoshi Ishii 6
Shinobu Kandori 1
Shinya Aoki 1
Shonie Carter 1
Shungo Oyama 1
Svetlana Goundarenko 1
Tatsuya Mizuno 3
Taylan Yuasa 2
Tetsuya Yamada 1
Tsuyoshi Kosaka 4
Valentina Shevchenko 1
Valery Pliev 1
Viktor Tatarkin 1
Vitaly Minakov 1
Vitor Belfort 1
Yoon Dong-sik 3
Yoshihiro Akiyama 3
Yoshihisa Yamamoto 1
Yoshiyuki Yoshida 4
Yuki Nakai 1
Yuriy Kochkine 1
Yushin Okami 1
Yuya Shirai 1

His name is Erik Paulson

 

[SuperAlly]

That’s Bin Laden.

Sean O'Malley

 

[don't ask]

Man, I love this thread. It's too bad some of the videos have been removed.

 

[don't ask]

Haven't updated the list a while!

NEW JUDOKA:

Baissangour Chamsoudinov aka Baki

Baïssangour Chamsoudinov — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

Il pratique le judo jusqu'à obtenir sa ceinture noire.

8-0 in MMA (4 KOs), now in PFL

It's too bad this video was removed, but I found these:







The last two videos share a lot of the same footage, but that first clip is just a pure hit of sweet, sweet foot sweeps.

 

[Koala]

Islam Makhachev
Serghei Spivac
Juliana Velasquez
Luana Pinheiro
Kevin Jousset
Virgil Augen

 

[Hotora86]

Great post TS, thanks.
RDR is a black belt.

Added Reinier de Ridder, many thanks!

 

[Hotora86]

Stuart Austin, the fighter that dominated Aspinall in grappling, is a Judo black belt.

Awesome, added him. Thanks so much!

 

[Hotora86]

There is a massive up and comer at 170 pounds, Erick Silva.

Oh wait, you're weren't even kidding, he is a Judo blackbelt! xD
Added, thanks!

 

[Hotora86]

Caio Borralho has 柔道（Judo）tattoo on his chest but... he's only a brown belt!

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Sorry if already posted by i heard that Abdulmanap required all his pupils to obtain a judo black belt.