Eddie Bravo

Edgar A. Bravo (né Cano; born May 15, 1970) is an American martial arts instructor, podcaster, stand-up comedian, and musician. After earning a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003, Bravo began teaching his own self-developed style of jiu-jitsu and founded 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. He is also the creator of the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) grappling competition and the EBI ruleset. He is a recurring guest on The Joe Rogan Experience and the Tin Foil Hat Podcast.

Early life and education Edgar A. Cano was born on May 15, 1970. He later legally changed his surname to Bravo, the name of his stepfather. Both of his biological parents are Mexican. Growing up, Bravo took to music and started to play the drums and guitar. He formed several bands with aspirations of becoming a famous musician. Bravo also developed an interest in athletics playing American football and joining his high school's wrestling team.

In 1991, Bravo moved to Hollywood, California to pursue a music career, and formed a band titled Blackened Kill Symphony. He got a gym membership as he wanted to avoid "looking like a slob" while performing but only visited twice. Bravo then began taking karate classes. In 1994, after watching Royce Gracie win an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, Bravo decided to become a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, which he began under the tutelage of Jean Jacques Machado.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu In 1998, Bravo decided to stop attending other martial arts schools to focus solely on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Around this time, he received a blue belt and started developing ways to finish opponents with a "Twister", a specific spinal lock submission hold. In 1999, Bravo earned a purple belt and began developing his signature guard, the rubber guard.

In 2003, Bravo entered the 145 lbs/66 kg division of the Abu-Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship as a brown belt after winning the North American trials. Bravo defeated Gustavo Dantas in the elimination round by rear naked choke in what was considered an upset.

Bravo then faced four-time world champion and three-time ADCC champion Royler Gracie in the quarter-finals. Bravo traded comfortably top positions with Gracie throughout the match before deploying his game of rubber guard, and eventually winning via a triangle choke after just under 9 minutes.

Promotional career Also in 2014, Bravo founded the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI), a no-gi submission-only grappling tournament. In 2016, it was announced that the EBI and UFC partnered together to feature EBI events on the UFC's streaming service Fight Pass. Later, Bravo also introduced Combat Jiu-Jitsu to his events; an altered form of submission grappling which allows open-hand strikes while on the ground.

After EBI 17 on September 29, 2018, Bravo took a break from running the organization and instead devoted his time to developing Combat Jiu-Jitsu. It was then that he began holding the Combat Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and continues to do so today. After several editions of the CJJ World Championship, Bravo announced that the Eddie Bravo Invitational would be returning in 2022 for the first event in almost four years.

At the same time, Bravo embarked on a new project that would combine both the EBI and CJJ rulesets into a single event that would be available exclusively to female competitors. The result was Medusa Female-Only Jiu-Jitsu, which ran their first successful event on October 2, 2021, featuring an EBI Strawweight tournament and a CJJ Bantamweight tournament.

Bravo staged the first official EBI Open Tournament on June 17, 2024, in El Paso, Texas. Bravo also created Jiu-Jitsu Overdose, a week-long celebration of grappling featuring events by all of his existing promotions, and scheduled the inaugural event for December 11 to 16, 2024.

Instructor lineage Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie Sr. → Carlos Gracie Jr. → Jean Jacques Machado → Eddie Bravo

Submission grappling record

Result

Opponent Method Event Division Date Location

Personal life Bravo has one son born in 2012.

Bravo is an outspoken marijuana advocate, crediting in 2006 some of his early success, like his invention of the Rubber Guard, with his regular marijuana usage.

Bravo is credited with the naming and creation of the Banana Split submission hold.

A provocateur and Joe Rogan podcast regular, he has been known to be a fan of conspiracy theories, such as flat Earth, one world government, and 9/11 controlled demolition conspiracy theories. He also has his own podcast called Look Into It, where he talks with "red pilled" martial arts stars, comedians, rock stars and conspiracy theorists.

Media

Books Jiu Jitsu Unleashed (2005) Mastering the Rubber Guard (2006) Mastering the Twister (2007) Advanced Rubber Guard (2014)

DVDs The Twister Mastering the Rubber Guard Mastering the Twister

Filmography Year Title Role 2001 Life in the Cage Himself 2007 American Drug War: The Last White Hope Himself 2008 Inside MMA Himself 2009 MMA Worldwide Himself 2011 Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown D.J. Bravo 2011 Human Weapon Himself 2012 The Roots of Fight Himself 2014 LatiNation Himself 2015 Jiu-Jitsu vs The World Himself