Eddie Bravo

Edgar "Eddie" Bravo (born Edgar Cano on May 15, 1970) is an American Jiu-Jitsu instructor, musician, and former UFC analyst. He is the founder of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu.

Born in Santa Ana, California, on May 15, 1970, to the birth name Edgar Cano, his last name was later legally changed to Bravo, the same as his stepfather. Bravo first partook in grappling when he joined his high school's wrestling team. After moving to Hollywood, California in 1991 to pursue a music career, Bravo took an interest in martial arts and began taking Karate classes. Watching Royce Gracie win multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events in the mid-1990s then inspired Bravo to become a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner which he began under the tutelage of Jean Jacques Machado. Bravo also attended a Jeet Kune Do academy from 1996 to 1998.

In 1998, Bravo decided to abandon practicing all other forms of martial arts and focus on Jiu-Jitsu. Around this time, he received a blue belt ranking and developed ways to finish opponents with a "Twister", the name of a specific spinal lock submission hold. In 1999, Bravo earned a purple belt and began establishing his signature guard, the rubber guard, as a widely used, effective technique.

In 2003, after winning the under 145 lbs/66 kg North American trials as a brown belt, Bravo competed at the Abu-Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship, a professional no-gi grappling competition. Bravo defeated Gustavo Dantas in the first round.

Bravo then faced the defending tournament champion Royler Gracie in the quarter-finals, submitting him by way of triangle choke.

Bravo would then lose to eventual-tournament champion Léo Vieira in the semi-finals. Upon his return to the United States after the competition, Bravo was awarded a black belt by Jean Jacques Machado and subsequently opened his first 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu school in Los Angeles, California, a no-gi jiu-jitsu system.

In March 2014, after having both retired from competition for years, Bravo and Royler Gracie agreed to a submission-only grappling match at Metamoris III. The contest lasted 20 minutes, ending in a draw.

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.

Jigoro Kano → Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Carlos Gracie, Jr. → Jean Jacques Machado → Eddie Bravo

Bravo is of Mexican descent. He is married and has one son. Bravo is a strong proponent of cannabis, attributing it with helping his creativity in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is in a music band called "Smoke Serpent". Bravo is close friends with Joe Rogan, comedian and podcast host. They both used to work for the UFC and Rogan holds a black belt rank under 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. Bravo is also a regular guest on Rogan's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Bravo had his own podcast, titled "Eddie Bravo Radio", from 2012 to 2015. A known "conspiracy theorist", he is part of the "9/11 Truth movement", publicly raising questions about the September 11 attacks, usually mentioning the World Trade Center Building 7 collapse. Bravo subscribes to the idea that governments have sprayed chemtrails on unknowing civilians. He also supports the notion of Earth being potentially flat, mostly because of his distrust in the organization NASA.This was the main topic of conversation of the first episode of "Eddie Bravo Radio" in 2017.

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