2026 IBJJF World Champion Ye Onjeong
At LetsRoll Jiu-Jitsu, we finally have a World Champion.
It was a moment we had truly been hoping for, and the day all the sweat and effort finally paid off.
Let me briefly summarize the journey.
A scene we’ve seen so many times, right?
Long flights are always brutal.
This time, we were with some new faces.
We grabbed some In-N-Out,
and arrived at the place we’d be staying for the week.
Onjeong and I trained at Brea Jiu-Jitsu,
shook off the travel swelling, and dialed in our condition before the matches.
The bond between Dan Luker and Nolan
was genuinely great to see,
and being here also became a turning point that changed how I think about jiu-jitsu.
The other friends headed to AOJ.
It’s an essential stop you can’t miss on your first trip to the U.S.
We also had a great time with Boris in the U.S., and his son Yui.
Thank you to Boris for always looking out for me.
The day before the tournament,
I got coaching from Nolan and asked him questions,
and learned so much.
Thank you, Nolan.
It still surprises me that he’s only 25 in Korean age.
The next day,
at the tournament held at Walter Pyramid,
we took first place.
The second opponent was last year’s Brasileiro champion,
so I was a bit worried, but luckily the match seemed to go our way.
I think my jiu-jitsu has grown, even if only a little.
Thank you to COS for taking amazing photos.
I can feel my mindset as a competitor steadily maturing, too.
No matter who the opponent is, I now focus only on the situation and respond with the techniques I have.
What if the technique doesn’t work?
Then I might lose. My opponent is good. I just train harder.
That evening after the matches,
I went again to see Junhyeok and Nolan.
I did some light rolling, asked questions, and drilled techniques.
The athletes preparing to compete moved with sharpness in every detail,
and just watching them was enough to lift my mood.
I also rolled with Fishman,
and learned the Fishnet from De La Riva.
Such a nice younger brother—Fishman.
The next day, Seongmin and Jihyeok had their matches,
Seongmin got a feel-good first win by submission,
but in the second match, even though the momentum was good,
he was disqualified for an inside ankle lock.
He really makes competing fun.
🤣
Jihyeok unfortunately lost in the first round due to not feeling his best.
Our Jjuni Kim
won his first match,
and in the second match, against a Brasileiro champion,
he fought well, even hitting a half-guard sweep,
but sadly lost.
We cheered,
and Seonghu moved forward step by step.
Following last year’s 3rd place at Purple Worlds,
he achieved 3rd place at Brown Worlds as well.
Just competing in such a brutal division is impressive in itself,
and I’m incredibly proud.
Honestly, 3rd at Brown Worlds is an enormous achievement,
but seeing more and more athletes from Korea placing at major events,
I can really feel how much the level of Korean jiu-jitsu has risen.
Junhyeok finished with two wins at purple belt.
He’s 20, works harder than anyone, and has talent,
so I’m even more excited for next year.
And then it was Onjeong’s competition day.
I’ve watched Onjeong’s effort since she was young,
and with every win she stacked,
all the years behind it came back to me.
In the end,
she did it—and proved it to herself.
2026 IBJJF Brown World Champion Ye Onjeong
As the first from Korea,
she accomplished something truly extraordinary.
She had natural talent,
and she worked twice as hard as anyone else.
At an age when she could have been out having fun,
she worked to cover living expenses and training costs,
she endured the pain of defeat,
she obsessed over winning at times,
and to pursue jiu-jitsu as a professional athlete,
she pushed herself to the very end.
As someone who watched that process up close,
seeing her prove herself
hit me with an overwhelming emotion, knowing I shared that moment with her.
I’m heading home with a powerful feeling that money can’t buy, held deep in my heart.
To everyone who helped Onjeong on her journey, thank you from the bottom of my heart,
and a special thank-you as well to all the LetsRoll members.
Whenever I express my gratitude, everyone says they didn’t really help, but
sparring with the colored belts at our academy
was a huge help to Onjeong.
The variety of techniques,
the skill to give the right reactions with the right timing,
and the consideration to keep Onjeong from getting hurt.
All of those moments piled up and piled up,
and they helped Onjeong climb even higher.
Thank you, truly.
🙇🏾
I still vividly remember the moment I first walked into the Worlds venue.
I was nervous,
and I also thought, “So the white belt who just liked jiu-jitsu in his neighborhood made it all the way here.”
I challenged myself and lost a lot,
and I felt upset as it seemed like my limits were being set little by little.
I want to stand on that stage.
I want to step up onto that podium.
What does jiu-jitsu look like through the eyes of the people watching?
I want to understand that perspective.
That’s the dream I began to have,
and I was living toward that goal.
Then I found teammates,
and we started looking in the same direction together.
I’ll keep doing my best where I am,
but from one step behind, I want to support even more of the younger teammates with greater potential.
There were various circumstances,
and I still haven’t reached the standard I set for myself.
I think it’s time to reset that standard.
I’m not competing in Adult anymore,
but alongside teammates who dream of becoming Adult World Champions,
I’ll compete hard as a Master.
Goodbye, Worlds.
See you again next year.