Levi Jones-Leary pulled not one, but two upsets to win the lightweight division at Euros yesterday.
Jones-Leary — who’s originally from Sydney, Australia, but currently trains at Unity — earned his black belt under Murilo Santana just seven months ago. But at Euros, he defeated multiple-time UAEJJF World Pro champion Gianni Grippo to make it to the finals. There, he narrowly defeated six-time IBJJF world champion Lucas Lepri by referee decision after the two were evenly matched on points and advantages.
Jones-Leary has multiple big wins at the colored belt levels, including a title at both IBJJF Worlds and the UAEJJF World Pro when he was a brown belt. Having placed second earlier this year at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, his victory at Euros is his first major win as a black belt.
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