Luke Griffith - No Gi World Champion

Luke Griffith is a passionate grappler and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu . He is a professional BJJ grappler and representative of the New Wave. Griffith has acquired most of the gold medals in the No Gi tournaments. The South African fighter is self-assured and has shown his skills on the mat. He competes in the weight division of Pesadissimo.

Luke Griffith is identified as a remarkable fighter; he has distinguished himself with his achievements. Griffith won the title of the Grapple Fest in the 100 KG division in 2023; he acquired 1st place in the ADCC EU & Africa Trials in the years 2022 and 2023. Luke Griffith dignified his identity when he was a color belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was among the few BJJ practitioners who could show remarkable skills while competing at the level of color belt.

Luke Griffith was born in South Africa in 2000. He grew up seeing his father do the martial arts of jiu-jitsu. Luke became fond of learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu at an early age. He did not take much time and started to learn BJJ when he was only five years old. 

Luke started taking jiu-jitsu classes along with his father, Lloyd Griffth, who was a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Luke Griffith's interest was clearly seen at an early age; he was seen on the mats copying BJJ techniques. Luke Griffith's favorite position is rear-necked choked (RNC). 

At the initial stage, Luke Griffith was instructed by his father, and after some time, he was guided by the coach Bobby Karagiannidis. Luke has shown remarkable potential in his training sessions of BJJ. Griffith stayed with the same coach from the white belt until he reached the purple belt. 

Luke Griffith has shown remarkable performance in the No Gi tournaments. He was very passionate about competing at the national and international levels. Griffith has a distinguished journey in the color belt division. He has secured one place in the BJJF European Championship NOGI, IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI, and IBJJF World Championship NOGI.

Griffith has competed in the IBJJF World Championship NOGI and won the IBJJF  Pan Championship NOGI. 

Luke Griffith wanted to enhance his skill set and travel to the United States (US). He moved to America and stayed in Texas. He dreams of becoming a practitioner of Gracie BJJ Institute. He switched to the BJJ coach and started training under the most renowned instructor, John Danaher.

After identifying the South African fighter's capabilities, Danaher was impressed and called him to join the well-known BJJ training center Roka. Luke Griffith was promoted to the brown belt rank under John Danaher. 

Luke Griffith was born with distinguished capabilities. He is among the few BJJ practitioners who can compete in the pro grappling circuit. As he has been involved in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from an early age, he has an innate quality that helped him acquire a significant place in jiu-jitsu. Luke was a special case, which is why he started competing in national and international BJJ tournaments.

Luke was regarded as a successful grappler when he competed in the color belt division. He has set records that show his remarkable capabilities. Once Luke recognized that No Gi competitions have slightly different criteria, he marked his place in it with his dynamic jiu-jitsu capabilities. Luke has the potential that has made every other competitor astonished. 

Luke Griffith began his jiu-jitsu expedition, conquering various national and international tournaments. Griffith has squared off top BJJ fighters and placed a milestone with his dynamic performance. In 2023, he won the title of GrappleFest U100kg, secured first place in ADCC EU, and won the title of Africa Trials. Luke Griffith has attained second place in the UFC Fight Pass Invitational. 

The South African BJJ fighter is very ardent and passionate about grappling. At 24 years old, Luke Griffith has set the professional record of thirty wins. He has won most of the matches with his favorite move, the rear-necked choke (RNC). Luke has won sixty-one percent of matches with the RNC submission method. The young grappler has the least losing record, having lost only five BJJ tournaments.

In the year 2023, Enigma Invitational XI organized the No Gi tournament . The two most dominant fighters, Luke Griffith and Pat Shahgholi, faced off against each other. As the game started, Pat Shahgholi took the upper hand in Grifth. The proceeding match has shown comparatively different figures. Luke Griffith has taken the mount position and began to take control over the neck. After three minutes, Luke succeeds in taking control of him. But it did not work, as Pat Shahgoli was not tapping out. Luke Griffith stayed determined; he tried the same submission method of rear-necked choke (RNC) and won after seven minutes of continuous struggle. 

RGA Fight Night VIII was set for the two BJJ grapplers, Luke Griffith and Declan Moody. The match started with passion and spirit. From the beginning of the bout, Luke took the supreme position, used the side mount method, and began to target the opponent's neck area.

Soon, Luke Griffith took the position of back mount and executed the method of rear-necked choke (RNC). The bout lasted less than two minutes. Luke Griffith won the match with his determination and passion.

Tezos WNO 21: Pedro Marinho vs. Rafael Lovato Jr. was arranged for the BJJ grapplers Luke Griffith and Roosevelt Sousa. Working on the same strategy, Luke approached from the front side and used the side mount method. Lukek faced a real struggle while facing Roosevelt Sousa; he was a challenging competitor.

He could trap Sousa in the submission with Luke Griffith's dynamic moves. As Luke realizes he is under the opponent's control, he stands up to apply the next move. Luke Griffith has succeeded in using the submission method for the inside heel hook. The match lasted for five minutes. 

Luke Griffith vs Pat Shahgholi | Heavyweight Championship | Enigma Invitational XI

Luke Griffith vs Declan Moody | RGA Fight Night VIII

Luke Griffith vs Roosevelt Sousa | Tezos WNO 21: Pedro Marinho vs Rafael Lovato Jr.

Luke Griffith vs Abdulaev Ruslan AGIA 2023 | FULL MATCH BREAKDOWN BY BJJ BLACK BELT

Standing Submission?! | Luke Griffith vs. Joe Dierkhising

Vagner Rocha vs Luke Griffith | Submission Grappling | *Full BJJ Match*

Photo Credit: @flograppling