Nolan Stuart has brought Brea Jiu-Jitsu our first major tournament title at the adult black belt level by winning IBJJF Pans Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The IBJJF Pans is a Grand Slam event and considered the 2nd most prestigious tournament in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Nolan’s victory was enabled by 12+ years of hard work which spanned through his entire adolescence into adulthood.
Prior to this year the last American male adult black belt to win a gold at Pans was in 2021. Including Nolan, have only been 14 Americans in history to have won Pan Championships since its inception in 1996. Of those 14, only 2 have won it in his weight category with Keenan Cornelius (2018) and Rafael Lovato (2007). Nolan is in an even more exclusive club by being coached by the same person and gym from day 1 to elite black belt. This is exceptionally rare in our sport with athletes of any nationality. Additionally, no American Pan Champion has ever been produced from a completely independent non affiliated/franchised gym like ours. He, and we as a gym, have broken molds and achieved success on our own terms.
Nolan is just 22 years old and this is the first of many great accomplishments sure to come in his career.