Name- Ryan Heilman
DOB – 10/4/1990
Hometown – Mesa, AZ
Team – Nova Uniao/GD Jiu-Jitsu
Instructor – Gustavo Dantas
Height – 5’11”
Weight Division – Feather(154)/Light(167.5)
Rank – Purple Belt (2 stripes)
Sponsor - Aggro Fight Gear
Music Interests - Punk Rock (Authority Zero, Pennywise, NOFX, Descendents, Bad Religion, etc.)
Like many children, I started practicing Karate at a young age; I kept with it untill I was about 15 years old when I discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I remember seeing the original Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV in 2005; this really sparked my interest in the ground game(at the time just to supplement my Karate). Eventually, in November of that year, I took a trial BJJ class at Arizona Combat Sports with team GD Jiu-Jitsu/Nova Uniao. That night I fell in love; I had never had so much fun in my life! I signed up the very next week and began my fateful journey into Jiu-Jitsu. Slowly, my ambitions in Karate started to fade; I started taking the kickboxing classes with intentions of one day becoming an MMA fighter, these feeling began to drift away as well. My passion was Jiu-Jitsu and nothing would get in my way, I began to go ahead full steam into BJJ with hopes of making a career out of the sport I love. I competed at my first tournament in 2006 submitting both of my opponents in the Juvenile divison, from that point on I went undefeated as a white belt in the Juvenile division. In November of 2006, I was awarded my blue belt at the age of 16, almost exactly a year after I started. From that point I slowly began to make a name for myself amongst Juveniles, winning the 2007 Pan American Championships and taking third at the 2007 World Championships. In April of 2009, I was promoted to purple belt at the age of 18. I hold this same rank today, still following my dreams of grandeur, working harder than ever to see them fulfilled.
Notable Accomplishments
2007 Pan American Champion-Juvenile/Blue/Feather(141)
2007 World Championship-3rd Place/Juvenile/Blue/Light(152)
2008 No Gi World Championships-3rd Place/ Blue/Adult/Feather
2x No Gi National Champion
3x Arizona State Champion (Once at Open Weight)
3rd Place 2009 No Gi Nationals- Purple/Open Weight
2010 No Gi World Championships-3rd Place/Purple/Adult/Feather
