Alex My Nguyen - BJJ Black Belt World Champion

Alex Nguyen is a young skilful black belt BJJ grappler under Greg Souders, in the Standard Jiu-Jitsu training academy. Nguyen has performed exceptionally in IBJJF World, American Nationals, Midwest Finishers, and IBJJF Pan Gi and NoGi Championships, winning numerous gold medals during colored and black belts.

Alex Nguyen was born in Vietnam on January 17, 2000. At the age of 2 in 2002, her family moved to Maryland, USA. From an early age, Nguyen was involved in various extra-curricular activities such as judo, surfing, soccer, and wrestling. In 2009, on her 9th birthday, her dad took her to the Judo Club, where she saw Jiu-Jitsu training and became fascinated with the sport. She immediately joined jiu-jitsu training and simultaneously participated in her school’s wrestling team. When she first started, she liked using techniques to defeat boys and more significant partners. Nguyen developed a competitive mindset and an intense motivation to train hard at once. Nguyen’s passion for sports develops because of her father. He intended for her to pursue martial arts as a career rather than a hobby.

To make her father proud, Nguyen started training hard. She used to spend almost 32 hours per week in the training class to learn wrestling and jiu-jitsu. In one of her interviews, she shared her routine during her training sessions.

Alex Nguyen acquired skills in Jiu-Jitsu under her coach, Greg Souders. In 2013, she won all matches by submission in the Kids' Pan Jiu-Jitsu Competition by beating the 2012 winner. Since then, she has never stopped and has become an elite athlete. During her lower ranks in the colored belt, she won gold medals in IBJJF World, IBJJF American Nationals Gi and NoGi, and IBJJF Pan Gi and NoGi Championships. In December 2020, she was promoted to black belt in BJJ under her coach, Greg Souders, who took her from white to black belt. 2022 was a successful year for Nguyen as she won the titles of IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI and Midwest Finishers 115 and 125lbs.

Alex Nguyen holds a record of 25 wins with 5 losses in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Most of her submission wins were achieved through one of her favorite techniques, the rear naked choke.

In the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi finals, Alex Nguyen and Jessica Crane held an interesting ten-minute fight. Nguyen aggressively attacks her opponent, performing a guillotine followed by a kimura. She won the match with a rare naked choke, leading with six points. Nguyen won a gold medal in the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi.

In the 2021 Who’s Number One 8, a fifteen-minute electrifying fight occurred between Alex Nguyen and Grace Gundrum. Nguyen made it difficult for Gundrum by taking complete control of her opponent. In the middle of the fight, Gundrum performed a close guard. Within a few minutes of the fight ending, Gundrum locked her opponent with arms and won the match.

In the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi finals, a tough competition took place between Alex Nguyen and Thamires Aquino, both female grapplers tried for submission. Nguyen applied Close guard, triangle, and heel hook techniques to hold her opponent tightly. She won the ten-minute match with a rare naked choke.

Photo Credit: @amazing._alex