Jackson Nagai - BJJ Black Belt Champion

Jackson Nagai is a renowned black-belt athlete. He is associated with the leading Checkmat team in the sport’s international circuits. He has won numerous international accolades including IBJJF American Nationals, IBJJF Pan Championship, IBJJF World Championship, IBJJF American Nationals NOGI, and IBJJF American Nationals. Jackson has a profound background in jiu-jitsu, and his younger brother Samuel Nagai is also a well-known athlete. Jackson made his name in the black belt category in 2020. 

Jackson was born in the small town of Manaus, Brazil on March 25, 1994. After a few years, Nagai’s family moved to Japan when he was 10. He was fond of playing basketball and carried that passion at the national level as well. He competed in the Japanese National team circuit and went to the Asian countries with his team to compete. 

During his teenage years, a sudden breakdown in personal matters brought a massive change in the life of Jackson. His father left the family, leaving behind his wife and two sons. An interview was taken in 2020 where Jackson shared his sentiments that he had a desire to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to protect his family. He further professed that his father left them after a lifelong physical and mental abuse.

He was finding the path to fulfill his aspiration, he stepped inside the art of dojo at a karate school in Japan. He was a dedicated student and went there for a year, side by side he attended the weekly kickboxing training. 

Jackson was born in America but he was fluent in Japanese and his friends were Nipponic. Jiu-jitsu was a very distant idea for him, One day Brazilian friend of her mother explained the effectiveness of the real martial art. The discussion made Nagai impatient and soon he started to fetch the BJJ Academy . At the age of 17 years, he started his training as a young BJJ fighter.

He joined the Evox BJJ gym where he started his first grappling. Nagai fell in love with the techniques of his coach Nori Toda. He persuaded his younger brother Samuel to join the training session. Nagai’s performance was becoming fairly popular within the community. Shortly after, Jackson earned his blue belt, they switched to the more competitive academy. 

Nagai brothers were ardent and passionate about grappling. They started to train under the prestigious instructor Marcio Pontes of Nova União and earned a brown belt. During that interval, Jackson and his brother Samuel were well-recognized as an emerging talent. They began to compete in the BJJ national tournaments and won several bouts. 

Jackson Nagai was among the sturdy and competing Jiu-Jitsu fighters. Nagai was fully committed to competing at the international level. Fetching the opportunity to live his dream he moved to the United States. He became part of one of the top leading BJJ academies in town, Checkmat. Nagai was promoted to the higher rank by Lucas Leite . In January 2020 Nagai was graded to the rank of black belt. 

Nagai began his black belt expedition, competing against BJJ's leading fighters at the national and international championships. He competed with his stellar performances at the Royal Invitational, IBJJF American Nationals, IBJJF Pan Championship, IBJJF American Nationals, and IBJJF World Championship.

In the year 2023, two renowned competitors Jackson Nagai and Sebastian Guevara faced each other. The final of the Houston Open was started with the open guard technique of Jackson Nagai. The whole match lasted for about five minutes, and the intensity of the match increased with the epic movements of the grapplers. Jackson Nagai won the match by attempting the method of collar choke.

In the 2018 Royal III, a thrilling match occurred between top athletes, Jackson Nagai and Roy Dagan. It was an exciting competition as the grapplers wanted to drag the other on the mat. Jackson used the method of Armbar that marked his victory in the competition.

In the World Championship 2023, a five-minute bout took place between the two leading fighters. Jackson competes against Espen Mathiesen in the quarter-final. Both of the fighters initiated the technique of the Open Guard method. The violent moves of Nagai increased the trill of the match. He won the competition with the technique of Hashimoto choke.

Jackson Nagai vs Natan Chueng / IBJJF ABSOLUTE GP 2023

Johnatha Alves vs Jackson Nagai / World Championship 2023

Ronaldo Junior VS Jackson Nagai / Pan Championship 2020

Jackson Nagai vs Aaron Wilson / Phoenix Open No-Gi 2023

Jackson Nagai vs Arthur Detanico / Dallas Summer Open 2023

Photo Credit: @nagai_jackson