AJ Agazarm (born July 26, 1990) is an American submission grappler,

mixed martial art Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

ist and

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

black belt practitioner. A multiple-time champion in coloured belts, Agazarm is a black belt World No-Gi Champion, Pan American No-Gi Champion, Brazilian National No-Gi Champion, European No-Gi Open Champion as well as a ADCC Submission Fighting World medallist. In 2019 Agazarm started a professional MMA career after signing with Bellator.

Early life and education

Agazarm was born in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and is of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent. He began wrestling as a sophomore in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. He performed well enough in high school to win a wrestling scholarship to

University of the Cumberlands The University of the Cumberlands is a private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky. About 18,000 students are enrolled at the university. History University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was founded on Ja ...

Williamsburg, Kentucky Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, on the southeastern border of Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. Developed along the Cumberland River, the city was founded in 18 ...

from 2005-2007. Agazarm then transferred to

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, a highly ranked

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

wrestling program.

Grappling career

Agazarm was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu in 2013 by

Eduardo de Lima Eduardo "Veio" de Lima is a 6th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) under Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie, Jr. and the head of Gracie Barra Clearwater. He has won several gold medals in the black belt divisions at the Pa ...

and Carlos Gracie Jr. That same year Agazarm got third place at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in the black belt open-weight division and first in the lightweight division. Later in 2013 at the

World Nogi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a no- gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation held at California State University in Long Beach, California. The 2022 edition ...

Agazarm placed third in the under 73.5 kg black belt division. In 2017, Agazarm won a silver medal at the

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been held every two yea ...

in the under 66 kg weight class and another silver at the World Nogi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the lightweight division. From 2015-2018 Agazarm participated in six Polaris Pro Grappling events. On November 6, 2021, Agazarm competed against Celsinho Vinicius at BJJ Stars 7, losing the match on points. Agazarm then faced English grappler Jed Hue at Polaris 18 on November 27, 2021. He lost the match by decision. In 2022, Agazarm received an invite to compete in the 66kg division of the 2022 ADCC World Championship. Agazarm lost to Jeremy Skinner on points in the opening round and was eliminated from the tournament. Agazarm competed in the

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu ...

Nashville Spring Open on April 22, 2023 and took silver in the middleweight division.

Jiu-Jitsu accomplishments

;2018 * IBJJF Pan Nogi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) ;2017 * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt Absolute) * ADCC 2017 World Championship (66 kg) * IBJJF Nogi World Championships (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF Rome International Open (Black Belt Absolute) ;2016 * IBJJF Nogi World Championships (Black Belt 73.5 kg) ;2015 * IBJJF Pan American (Black Belt 76 kg) ;2014 * IBJJF Nogi World Championships (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt Absolute) * IBJJF Pan Nogi (Black Belt Absolute) * IBJJF Pan Nogi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF European Open (Black Belt 76 kg) ;2013 * IBJJF Pan Nogi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * CBJJ Brazilian Nogi Championship (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * CBJJ Brazilian Nogi Championship (Black Belt Absolute) * IBJJF American National Championship (76 kg) * IBJJF Pan Nogi (Black Belt Absolute) * IBJJF European No-Gi (Black Belt Absolute) * IBJJF Nogi World Championships (Black Belt 73.5 kg) * CBJJ Brazilian Championship (Brown Belt Absolute) * IBJJF European Open (Brown Belt 76 kg) * CBJJ Brazilian Championship (Brown Belt 76 kg)

Mixed martial arts career

Prior to turning professional Agazarm compiled an 8–0 amateur

mma Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

record. Agazarm made his professional MMA debut in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

at Bellator 214 on January 26, 2019 at The Forum in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. He lost to Jesse Roberts by split decision fighting at a

catchweight A catchweight is a term used in combat sports, such as boxing or mixed martial arts, to describe a weight limit that does not adhere to the traditional limits for weight classes. In boxing, a catchweight is negotiated prior to weigh-ins, which are ...

of 160 lbs. After this, he went on to win his next three fights for Bellator against Jacob Landin at Bellator 224, Johnathan Quiroz at Bellator 228 and Adel Altamimi at Bellator 238. He then lost his fifth professional fight against Cris Lencioni by unanimous decision at Bellator 243. Agazarm suffered a severe injury to his knee in the first round. Bellator MMA announced on October 27, 2020, that Agazarm had been released from the promotion due to injury, but will revisit in future.

Mixed martial arts record

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Adel Altamimi , Submission (triangle choke) , Bellator 238 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:22 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Jonathan Quiroz , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 228 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Jacob Landin , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 224 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (3 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Jesse Roberts , Decision (split) , Bellator 214 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States ,

Instructor lineage

Mitsuyo Maeda ,Virgílio, pp. 22–25 a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese ''judōka'' (judo practitioner) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions, also being one of the first documented mixed martial artists of t ...

> Carlos Gracie Sr. >

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * ...

> Carlos Gracie Jr. (>

) > AJ Agazarm

Personal life

Agazarm also teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu and promoted his younger brother Anthony, who is also a competitor, to purple belt in March 2023.

Notes

References

External links

Aj Agazarm's Rokfin Channel
* *
AGAZARMY Fight Shorts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agazarm, AJ American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists 1988 births Armenian male mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Hollywood, Florida Mixed martial artists from Florida American people of Armenian descent Ohio State Buckeyes wrestlers Cumberlands Patriots wrestlers World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who have competed in MMA (men)