Nicky Rodriguez Has Been Promoted to BJJ Black Belt

On 23rd December 2023, Nicky Rodriguez, a professional heavyweight No-Gi wrestler, received a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under his coaches and training partners: Nicky Ryan , Craig Jones , and Ethan Crelinsten.

Nicky Rod, or the ‘Notorious Black Belt Slayer’ was born in 1996 in New Jersey, US. Rodriguez started wrestling when he was very young. He competed for Clayton High School’s Team.Later, he qualified for the NJSIAA championship.

Rodriguez moved to Virginia to Ferrum College to continue his training in wrestling by competing in the Division III wrestling team. In 2018 his instructor Jay Regalbuto introduced him to national-level BJJ tournaments, where he proved himself by holding an undefeated record.

Rodriguez was invited by his coach to  Danaher Death Squad ’s training class in 2018 so he started his training for the ADCC. In the same year, he won the IBJJF World Championship.

Rodriguez won the ADCC East Coast Trials in 2019 and 2022, acquiring a silver medal and being promoted to purple belt by conquering the world’s top-class BJJ athletes. He has been showcasing his phenomenal performances since he was a white belt.

In 2021, Rodriguez split from the DDS training class and created his new team named as B-Team with his DDS training partners, Craig Jones, Nicky Ryan, and Ethan Crelisten. His training partners are already black belts in BJJ, therefore this promotion from purple to black belt is a massive achievement for him in his grappling career.

Nicky Rodriguez has currently achieved medals in ADCC US West Coast Trials, ADCC World Championship, Kasai 7 HW Grand Prix, and ADCC US East Coast Trials manifesting his grappling skills, and it’ll be fascinating to see how far he will go with his BJJ journey.

Photo Credit: @nickyrod247