Robert Lewis Drysdale (born October 5, 1981) is a Brazilian-American Brazilian jiu-jitsu 4th degree black belt under

Léo Vieira Leonardo Alcantara Vieira (born March 23, 1976) commonly known as Léo Vieira or Leozinho is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor. He is the eldest of the Vieira brothers (Ricardo and Leandr ...

, a retired undefeated

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and an instructor at his own BJJ academy. Having won multiple World Championships, he was referred to by ''Vice'' magazine as "America's jiu-jitsu superhero", regarded by ''BJJ Heroes'' as "the most accomplished American grappler of his generation" and as the best Submission Wrestler in the World by ''Gracie Magazine''.''Gracie Magazine'', Issue 130, p. 42 Drysdale is one of only two Americans (with

Rafael Lovato Jr. Rafael Lovato Jr. (born June 25, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. At the time of his original retirement, he was the Bellator MMA Middleweight World Champion and was ranked the no. 4 middlewe ...

) to have won

Mundials The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year. The f ...

in the gi at 94 kg and up. Drysdale is one of only four Americans to have won the ADCC absolute division; at the 2007 ADCC he submitted grappling legend Marcelo Garcia in just over two minutes.FIGHT! MAGAZINE ISSUE 12, PAGE 52

Early life

Born in Utah, the United States to a Brazilian mother and American father, he moved to Brazil with his family in 1987 at the age of six. Robert Drysdale spent much of his childhood in Brazil. He was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu during his late teens (17) at the Quatro Tempos Academy in the city of Itú, state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil in 1998. Drysdale moved back to the US to pursue his academic studies in Las Vegas in 2008. He continued training with instructor Steve da Silva until with his instructor’s encouragement, Robert decided to move back to Brazil where the sport was gaining popularity and had more competition opportunities.

Career

Brazilian jiu jitsu

Beginning in the early 1990s, jiu-jitsu began growing in popularity worldwide and Brazil was quickly becoming the Mecca for jiu-jitsu. Robert returned to Brazil in 2002 to dedicate himself entirely to training and competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Over the years he has trained continually, initially with Maromba Club and eventually team Brasa Jiu-Jitsu Club in

, Brazil. While training and competing for Brasa Club he received his Black Belt in 2004 from the famed

. In Brazil, he went on to win multiple national and world titles, becoming the 2nd US national to win an IBJJF black belt World title (2005), after BJ Penn. In 2007 he won the prestigious

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tournaments in the world ...

– Open Division ADCC, submitting Marcelo Garcia in just over two minutes, a feat considered to be the equivalent of "out-swimming"

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

. In early 2008, he returned to the US where h
trained
with former UFC Champion,

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

and former Pride Champion

Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, ...

. That same year he opened Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, still in operation today. He has competed and taught in various countries around the world, including Germany, Denmark, Poland, France, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand Canada, Cuba, Brazil, Norway, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Russia, England, Scotland, Japan, Bulgaria and Austria; while teaching and hosting seminars in cities across the United States. In 2012 Drysdale joined forces with Rodrigo Cavaca to form a new grappling team – Zenith BJJ, which became a big player in the sport.

Mixed martial arts

Robert Drysdale made his amateur MMA debut with Tuff-N-Uff in 2008, winning his fight. In 2010 Drysdale made a successful professional MMA debut defeating Bastien Huveneers via arm triangle choke. In his next fight, Drysdale faced Clay Davidson, a

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

veteran who entered the contest riding a six-fight win streak. Drysdale won via armbar in the first round. It was announced on February 16, 2012 that Drysdale has signed a multi-fight deal with Legacy Fighting Championship. Drysdale eventually made his debut at Legacy Fighting Championships 12 and went on to defeat

Isaac Villanueva Isaac "Ike" James Villanueva (born April 4, 1984), is an American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who competes in the Heavyweight division of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing and competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

, Chris Reed and D.J. Linderman under the Legacy FC banner all by submission in the first round. Robert Drysdale MMA

Drysdale’s rampant MMA career brought him to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2013. Drysdale was expected to make his promotional debut against Ednaldo Oliveira on August 3, 2013 at

UFC 163 ''UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 3, 2013, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The main event was expected to feature current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo taking on fut ...

. However, Drysdale pulled out of the bout in mid-July citing a lingering staph infection. Drysdale's debut was rescheduled for

UFC 167 ''UFC 167: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 16, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Background The event commemorated the organization's 20th anniversary. The main event was a U ...

, where he was slated to meet

Cody Donovan Cody Scott Donovan (born February 20, 1981) is an American practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is also a retired mixed martial artist, who is perhaps best known for his four-fight stint in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

. However, after failing an out-of-competition drug test, with a 19.4/1 T/E ratio, the

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...

ultimately declined to license him. Drysdale eventually made his debut on July 6, 2014 against promotion newcomer Keith Berish at

The Ultimate Fighter 19 finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 19'') is the nineteenth U.S.-based installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round. However, the win was later overturned and changed to a

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

, after it was reveled that Drysdale had failed a post-fight drug test for an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio. After failing his second drug test, Drysdale was released by the UFC. After he served his suspension, Drysdale returned to pro MMA and became the Legacy Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion by second-round rear-naked choke against future UFC fighter

Ryan Spann Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fighti ...

at Legacy FC 58 in July 2016. In late 2019, Drysdale revealed that he had retired from mixed martial arts.

MMA coach

Alongside his BJJ and MMA careers, Drysdale also cultivated a successful coach career, having trained many UFC and BJJ champions:

Forrest Griffin Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and is the Vice President of Athlete Development at the UFC Performan ...

Frank Mir Francisco Santos Miranda III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years, and Bellator MMA. A former UFC Heavywe ...

Dan Hardy Daniel Mark Hardyhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2012%20Results%20Web/05-26-12%20MMA.pdf (born 17 May 1982) is an English former mixed martial artist who fought in the welterweight division. During his professional MMA career, which began in 2004, Hardy ...

Evan Dunham Evan Dunham (born December 18, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the lightweight division. He is perhaps best known for 21-fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship which spanned over a decade. Backgro ...

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares fought in regional p ...

Michelle Nicolini Michelle Zonato Nicolini or Michelle Nicolini (born January 5, 1982) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist (MMA). Among the most accomplished female grapplers of all time, Nicolini holds third place for most IBJJF Worl ...

Joanna Jędrzejczyk Joanna Jędrzejczyk (, born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist, Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer. Jędrzejczyk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she holds several records and is a forme ...

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, amateur and professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he ...

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist, kickboxer, boxer, and professional wrestler. Baroni competed in the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteXC, Bellator MMA, Titan FC, Palace Fi ...

Kevin Lee Kevin Jeese Lee Jr. (born September 4, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultima ...

James McSweeney James McSweeney (born 24 October 1980) is a British retired kickboxer and mixed martial artist. A professional since 2005, McSweeney is best known for being a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'' and competing in th ...

Joe Stevenson Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welt ...

Jay Hieron Jay Hieron (born July 29, 1976) is an American actor, stuntman and former mixed martial artist. Hieron was the final IFL Welterweight Champion, competing for the Los Angeles Anacondas, and has also competed in the UFC, WEC, Affliction, ...

He was introduced on ''Countdown to UFC 101'' as the BJJ coach of former UFC light heavyweight champion

. In 2008 Drysdale was brought in as an assistant coach to

at ''The Ultimate Fighter'' Season 8. Again in 2013 as assistant coach to team Miesha Tate Season 18. was invited to be an assistant coach to Joe Benavidez on ''The Ultimate Fighter'' Season 24 and again as the grappling coach for Joanna Jędrzejczyk's team on ''The Ultimate Fighter'' season 23. In June 2020, Drysdale elicited controversy after he refused to call off a fight involving his fighter Max Rohskopf vs.

Austin Hubbard Austin Steven Phillip Hubbard (born December 22, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Fighting professionally since 2015, he has also competed for the Lega ...

at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov on June 20, despite Rohskopf telling him nine times between the second and third rounds to "call it." Eventually, a

official intervened and called in the referee and doctor to check on Rohskopf, at which point the fight was stopped after Rohskopf expressed his unwillingness to continue. NSAC executive director Bob Bennett indicated that Drysdale may face disciplinary action. "That's something we will take a look at," Bennett told ESPN. "We might want to take disciplinary action on them. That doesn't sound like they are looking out for a fighter. Obviously, he didn't want to come out." Drysdale defended his actions, stating that "He wasn't seriously hurt." "I know he was not in harm's way. He was just frustrated. I was trying to give him a push so he overcame that frustration. I still believe he could have won the fight." After the fight, Rohskopf was cut from the UFC.

Sports commentator

On February 7, 2016, Drysdale made his debut as a sports commentator for WSOF-Global ( WSOF Global Championship 2: Japan) Drysdale has also worked for PFL/DAZN, FloSports and ACBJJ and FloGrappling.com in both English and Portuguese.

Media

In March 2018, Drysdale announced that he was involved in a documentary production titled "Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil". The film is primarily about the history of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Vale-Tudo (later rebranded "MMA") from Japanese immigrants to the Amazonian Jungle and from there to the world. The film will explain how the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu developed from the first Japanese immigrants onward. According to Drysdale, the goal of the film was to tell a complete account about how Brazilian jiu-jitsu drifted away from its Kodokan roots and became such a unique art. Additionally, the purpose of the film is to give credit to many forgotten names that made Brazilian jiu-jitsu possible, as well as acknowledge other already accredited names. The film, currently in production, has no release date yet. In September 2020 Drysdale published the book "Opening Closed Guard: The Origins of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil: The Story behind the Film", in which he describes the process that led up to and the production of the documentary, including full transcripts of the interviews conducted in the process of filming the documentary. The book includes interviews with many luminaries of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, including Carlos Gracie, Jr., João Alberto Barreto, Robson Gracie, Hélio Fadda, Armando Wriedt, Flávio Behring, Royce Gracie, the Valente Brothers, and others. The book was a #1 Amazon best-seller, and has been translated into Polish and Portuguese. Alongside his experience as a producer, Drysdale also gave a

TEDTalk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

at TedXTenayaPaseo, entitled "What is the point of winning?"

Grappling credentials

2007 (Black Belt)

* 1st place in the Abu-Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships – Open Division (ADCC) * 3rd place in the Abu-Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships – -99 kg Division (ADCC) * 2nd place in the BJJ World Championships (IBJJF/CBJJ) * 3rd place in the BJJ World Championships – Open Division (IBJJF/CB)

2005 (Black Belt)

* 3x times BJJ World Champion (IBJJF/CBJJ) * 1st place Black Belt World Championships (CBJJO)

2004 (Brown/Black Belt)

* 2x National Brazilian National Champion (IBJJF/CBJJ) * 1st place in the Brazilian National Championship open division (IBJJF/CBJJ) * 3rd place World Championship (IBJJf/CBJJ) * 1st place in the Scandinavian open * 1st place in the Scandinavian open absolute division

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Legacy FC 58 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:58 ,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 6–0 (1) , Keith Berish , NC (overturned by NSAC) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , D.J. Linderman , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Legacy FC 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Chris Reed , Submission (armbar) , Legacy FC 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

Ike Villanueva Isaac "Ike" James Villanueva (born April 4, 1984), is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer who competes in the Heavyweight division of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing and competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Ligh ...

, Submission (armbar) , Legacy FC 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Mike Nickels , Submission (guillotine choke) , AFC 6: Conviction , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Clay Davidson , Submission (armbar) , AFC 4: Revelation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Bastien Huveneers , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , AFC 3: Evolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

, Canada ,

References

External links

* * * * Robert Drysdale interview (audio, text transcription)
The FightWorks Podcast

Episode 268: Robert Drysdale returns! , The Grappling Central Podcast

"Possibly the most accomplished American Grappler of his generation"Vice magazine quote and link: "america's jiu-jitsu superhero"
*Bjj heros quote
Regarded as the most accomplished American Grappler of his generation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drysdale, Robert Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian people of American descent Brazilian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in mixed martial arts Sportspeople from Provo, Utah Living people 1981 births People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who have competed in MMA (men) 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen