Grace Gundrum- Youngest Female BJJ Black Belt

Grace Gundrum never thought she would make a profession out of jiu-jitsu or martial arts, nor was she destined to become the youngest female black belt ever at 19. She started her fighting career at 12 and competed in the EBI 3 (Super Adult Fight). This is how she found a future path to success.

Many people assume Gundrum as Japanese at first glance due to her expertise in Japanese jiu-jitsu and judo. But she has always referred to herself as “Pure Chinese,'' born in China but adopted and raised by American parents in the USA. Undoubtedly, Gundrum is a symbol of strength, bravery, and a role model for many teenagers. She is also called by the nickname, “Silent Assassin,” as she is quiet by nature, focused, hardworking, and a strategic athlete.

Gundrum was born on May 22, 2022, in China. She was an orphan a few months after her birth, but was adopted by an American couple. Gundrum grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Gundrum started practising martial Arts at the age of four . A year later, her brother decided to quit his jiu-jitsu classes. Grace picked up where he left off and joined the academy’s grappling classes. This decision gave her a new perspective on grappling and filled her with dedication and passion. Grace was mentored by Robert Villafane, JM Holland, and Zach Maslany, each of whom offered valuable knowledge and training that helped her grappling career.

Martial arts were not the only sports Gundrum was doing since elementary school. She participated in other sports, too. She played basketball for four years at club level. In middle school, she played street hockey while putting aside time to learn grappling, karate, and kickboxing.

She also competed in freestyle wrestling in high school, which helped Gundrum improve her BJJ skills. A multitasker, Gundrum juggles her jiu-jitsu training, studies, and social work. She is pursuing a Computer Science and Engineering degree at Lehigh University’s College of Engineering.

Eddie Bravo, founder of 10th Planet (Pennsylvania) took it upon himself to guide and train Grace Gundrum at the age of 10, along with JM Holland and Zach Maslany. Then, at age 12, Gundrum defeated her first opponent in the first match at EBI 3 via submission. She easily became the queen of submission techniques by defeating many fighters at EBI 4, 6, and 7 with these methods. Since 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu is primarily a No-Gi training center and not a traditional jiu-jitsu academy, Gundrum mostly competed in No-Gi tournaments. Most students at her age only competed in No-Gi submission-only matches. But Gundrum was able to defeat all her opponents like Jessa Khan, Alyssa Mia Milson, and even Rikako Yuasa, who was a black belt and four-time IBJJF world champion at the Quintet Grappling event in 2019.

At age 16, when Gundrum earned her blue belt, she started competing in freestyle wrestling and took part in American wrestling competitions. She also got 3rd place at the Junior Women’s World Team Trials. In 2018, Gundrum participated in the world’s biggest Jiu-Jitsu Onnit Invitational Tournament and defeated Charlene Gellner by using a dead orchard armbar to win.

In 2019, Grace got her purple belt at Quintet 3 in April and her brown belt in November. Grace was proud to represent the 10th Planet Team in her first female competition at Quintet. She defeated Hikaru Aono, a MMA fighter representing the Deep Jewels Team. Until 2019, Gundrum had never lost a grappling match.

Due to her unbeatable win streak, Gundrum was awarded a black belt by Eddie Bravo on July 20, 2020, just two months after turning 18. Consequently, she became the youngest female black belt holder in the USA.

“It feels pretty cool to be a black belt. I didn’t think I’d get one so quickly since I had received my brown belt at the end of last year, but I appreciate that [my coaches] believe I’m good enough to be one.” - Grace Gundrum

Most of the people from the jiu-jitsu community were not happy with Gundrum’s promotion to black belt in only a few months. IBJJF did not acknowledge her black belt status. Such quick promotion from one belt level to another was considered a violation of IBJJF guidelines.

Gundrum made her black belt debut at FTW 155 against multiple-time No-Gi World Champion Pati Fontes. Continuing her winning streak, Gundrum subdued the former world champion with an armbar. However, Gundrum would face her first two defeats against Mayssa Bastos; twice in the last nine years at WNO 5 in 2021 and WNO Championship in 2021.

Bastos used a dynamic strategy to put Gundrum on the mat and control her guard game. Bastos won both games via calls by the referee.

Due to the belt fiasco, Gundrum decided not to participate in IBJJF tournaments. The people who criticised her disregarded her passion, hard work, and dedication to her grappling training for the last 13 years. She had an amazing record of 34-0-2 at just 19 years old.

Gundrum is most commonly known for her four EBI superfight wins, but she has competed in the Gracie Nationals, Fight to Win Pro, the Finishers Sub Only, Ultimate Mat Warriors, and most recently, the Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground (SUG5).

Undoubtedly, Grace has achieved many major milestones in her BJJ career, gaining the title of “Silent Assassin” at a very young age, serving as an inspiration for many teenagers. Thus, her future prospects in BJJ are quite bright.

Gundrum is very hardworking as many people spot her at the gym all the time with her trainers. Grace’s trainer, Holland taught her the core principles of being focused, disciplined, and organised. Grace always kept herself occupied with grappling drills. It is thanks to that attitude and control of her emotions that she has won so many submission-only matches.

In 2021, Grace Gundrum faced Jessa Khan at the WNO Championship. Both fighters faced each other during the semi-finals. At the beginning of the match, Gundrum pinned Jessa down and trapped her between her legs. Khan resisted Gundrum’s leg lock attempt and went for a shoulder lock. However, she didn’t stand a chance against Gundrum who successfully locked the first twister of her career. Gundrum also got bonus points for successfully pulling off the submission.

Alex Nguyen and Grace Gundrum both had experience in wrestling which made this match more thrilling. At the beginning of the match, Nguyen maintained control by putting pressure on Gundrum’s head and left knee. Nguyen then tried a guard pass and a leg lock to subdue Gundrum. Both athletes showed great flexibility in their hips and legs when resisting and attacking. Gundrum was not able to secure the top position in the first nine minutes of the bout. Eventually, with the help of a leg transition, she locked Nguyen’s feet and attempted a few guard passes and side control locks. Gundrum trapped Nguyen’s arms and hooked her neck and feet. She finally finished the match with an armbar in the last twenty seconds.

Gundrum mounted Fontes from the back and pushed her down onto the ground. While Fontes was trying a guard pass to get out of the disadvantageous position, Gundrum looked for arm control. Firstly, Gundrum used a half guard and then positioned herself in a full guard, but Fontes was smart enough to keep her hands off the mat so Gundrum could not hold her arm. Fontes tried to take hold of Gundrum’s head, but she was not quick enough. Gundrum got a hold of Fontes’s arm and went for an armlock. Fontes stood up quickly in an attempt to lift Gundrum off and knock her prone onto the mat. But Gundrum just hooked her legs in to maintain control. Fontes began to get desperate and tried to get on top of Gundrum’s hips by hooking her leg around Gundrum’s body. Quickly, Gundrum used a mounted dead orchard, applied an armbar, and got Fontes to tap out within the next three minutes.

From the start of the match, Gundrum struggled to stay on top of her opponent while Chiles tried to apply a footlock. Then, Gundrum got on her feet and tried to grab her opponent’s legs for the under hook, but failed. Gundrum then pulled at her rival’s hands to secure a triangle armbar. In the last two minutes, Gundrum put all of her body weight on Chiles and tried to grab her by the shoulder. Successfully pulling off the manoeuvre, she finished the match with a twister submission.

At the start of the match, Gundrum had the advantage over Alyssa Wilson by being in the top position, but Alyssa constantly struggled to get out of Gundrum’s hold. Gundrum remained calm and patient while fighting with her hands, controlling Alyssa’s wrist, and trying to stand up. Then, she grabbed Alyssa’s elbow and managed to get back on her feet. Both combatants attacked back and forth in an attempt to subdue the other. In the end, Gundrum defeated her opponent via rear-naked choke and won the bout.

As Gundrum was busy pursuing her degree in computer science engineering, she took a year gap away from competitions. She returned to Jiu-Jitsu in 2023, when she participated in Finshers 18 Women’s 115lbs Grand Prix held on January 15, 2023, along with other talented female grapplers. Gundrum submitted all three of her opponents but lost to Alex Enriquez.

• N/A

• WNO Champion
• F2W Strawweight Champion
• Quintet Team Tournament
• Finishers Sub-Only
• Onnit Invitational
• SBG Montana
• Ultimate Mat Warriors
• ACE MMA BJJ - Finishers Sub Only 4
• Mat Monsters Academy (Radius Invitational 2)
• The Hive Martial Arts (Fight to Win Pro 31)
• Unity Jiu-Jitsu (Finishers Sub Only 3
• Art of Jiu-Jitsu (EBI7,6,4,3)

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Photo credit: @gracegundrum