The fifth edition of The Eddie Bravo Invitational, which will take place at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles and can be streamed on BudoVideos on Sunday, December 13th, is the first edition where every competitor in the 16-man tournament bracket possesses a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The grand prize of up to $20,000 has attracted ADCC veterans, past EBI champions, and competitors from around the world. EBI 4 Champion Eddie Cummings was forced to drop out, but was quickly replaced by his Renzo Gracie training partner Garry Tonon, who won EBI 1 and 3. Here are quick profiles of all 16 competitors ranked on Jiujitsutimes.com’s ranking of the competitors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxOcmaNUDho
Garry Tonon – 2-time EBI Champion at 170 lbs. Black belt under Tom DeBlass of Ocean County Jiu Jitsu. Owns and Operates Brunswick BJJ. He is a 2-time Metamoris winner, 2-time ADCC participant, 2015 NoGi Pans Champion, 2-time NoGi Worlds gold medalist at Brown Belt, and multiple time Grapplers Quest champion.
Rani Yahya – Won gold at 2007 ADCC championships and silver at the 2005 ADCC event. He holds a 21-8 professional MMA record with 16 submission victories. Currently signed to the UFC and owns a 6-2 record in the UFC. Holds a black belt under Athaide Junior and is known for attacking chokes in both BJJ and MMA.
Denny Propokos – EBI 2 155 lbs champion. He is Eddie Bravo’s first black belt and owner of 10th Planet San Francisco. Participated in 2013 ADCC in Beijing, China. Other notable accomplishments include 2007 IBJJF Brown Belt NoGi World Champion and 2010 FILA World Champion.
Nathan Orchard – Orchard defeated Baret Yoshida at EBI 2 to make the finals alongside teammate Denny Propokos. He is a black belt under Eddie Bravo and has competed in 3 of the 4 editions of EBI. Invented the “Dead Orchard” arm lock and owns and operates 10th Planet Portland. Won 2014 Gracie Worlds.
Rafael Domingos – He is a black belt and protégé of BJJ legend and UFC competitor Demian Maia. Domingos trains and coaches at Maia’s academy in Sao Paulo, Brazil and owns a 6-0 professional MMA record with 5 submission victories. He placed third at the 2014 NoGi Worlds Black Belt division.
Javier Vasquez – Served as a last minute replacement on 3 hours’ notice for the 170 lbs division at EBI 3, when Marcelo Mafra didn’t show up for the event. Owns a 16-5 MMA record with notable victories over Joe Stevenson and former UFC champion Jens Pulver.
Kim Terra – He is the younger brother of multiple-time BJJ World Champion Caio Terra. Terra earned his black belt under Ricardo Vieira. He has medaled in numerous major events including winning the gold at the 2015 IBJJF San Francisco Open and 2 silver medals at the Brazilian NoGi Championships.
Ruben Alvarez – Black belt under BJJ legend Cyborg Abreu. Also trains and teaches with BJJ and UFC competitor Vagner Rocha in the Miami, FL area. He is only 23 years old and has won numerous NAGA championships as well as The Five Grappling Championship crown.
Stephen Martinez– Black belt who trains out of Millenia MMA and Checkmat. He competed at EBI 3. Bellator MMA veteran with a 11-3 pro record. All of his MMA victories are by finish with 9 submissions and 2 knockouts.. In BJJ, he placed third at the 2013 NoGi Worlds in the Adult Brown Belt Heavy and Open Weight divisions.
Lachlan Giles – One of the top black belts out of Australia. His major BJJ accomplishments include being the 2014 Australian Jiu-Jitsu Grand Prix Champion, multiple-time Pan Pacific and Victorian Jiu Jitsu titles. He works as a physiotherapirst and is working on his PhD at Latrobe University.
Jonathan Ortega – Trains out of the Okinawa Dojo in Chile. He owns a 7-2 professional MMA record with 6 submission victories. He was a lightweight fighter on Kelvin Gastelum’s team on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2, where he was eliminated in the first round of the competition.
Noah Tillis – Tillis is a black belt under John Ouano, who is part of the Rodrigo Medeiros and Carlson Gracie lineage. Owns and operates Tillis Jiu Jitsu in Whittier, CA. Has won and medaled in numerous BJJ tournaments including IBJJF events, Grapplers Quest, NAGA and Copa Pacifica.
Lucas Brown – Trains of Paragon in Santa Barbara, CA and Studio 540 in San Diego with surfing legend Joel Tudor. Teaches out of Studio 540 and lives a lifestyle of surfing and BJJ that many would envy.
Geoff Real – 3-time EBI veteran. Real last name is “Villarreal.” Black belt competitor who has trained withVictory MMA, Atos and Studio 540 in San Diego, CA. Born without left hand. Had third place finishes in adult black belt division at 2013 NoGi Worlds and American Nationals.
Juan Bernando – Was a Brown belt under Dean Lister and Jeff Glover as of October 30th. Recently lost a super fight to BJJ legend Baret Yoshida. Finished second at recent JJWL event in both his brown belt weight class and open weight divisions.
Christian Carrillo – Black belt under Cleber Luciano. Hard to find additional information on this competitor.
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