# David Terrell ("Dave")

> Black Belt | United States

## Overview

**Name:** David Terrell

**Nickname:** Dave

**Belt Rank:** Black Belt

**Nationality:** United States

**Gender:** Male

**Weight:** 88 kg


## Bio

David Terrell was born on the 9th of January, 1978 in Sacramento, California (USA). As Terrell’s father passed away when he was very young, Dave’s stepfather became a strong influence in his upbringing. It was through his step-dad (a former wrestler) that David picked up wrestling during seventh grade (at 12 years of age).

After the first UFC event took place on November 1993, the USA was awakened to the fighting art of Brazilian jiu jitsu, and Terrell became very curious about this combat style. As there was no jiu jitsu in Sacramento at the time, Terrell and his stepfather started training sambo, a Russian form of grappling. Visiting a local academy a couple of times per week and drilling the positions they learnt at home on an improvised mat area on the garage.

At the age of 18 David Terrell discovered that there was a Gracie jiu jitsu academy in Concord, CA, a 90 minute drive from his home town. Terrell started travelling there weekly to train, being coached by  Ralph  and  Cesar Gracie . Understanding his own potential, and with the desire to become a professional fighter, Dave Terrell decided to quit his job as a machine builder in a construction site and move to Concord where he could train full time. To cover (some of) the expenses, he worked as an assistant instructor during children’s classes at the gym.

Training full time, Dave Terrell’s talent truly emerged, winning several “submission wrestling” (no gi jiu jitsu) tournaments in the west coast, being rewarded with his black belt by Cesar Gracie, the 1st black belt awarded by the Gracie, a testament to David’s high level grappling.

On August 7, 1999 Terrell made his debut in mixed martial arts (MMA) against a seasoned veteran Vernon White, who had at the time 34 fights under his belt. The result was a decision win for White. Terrell got back on the horse and continued training hard and competing in MMA and the pro grappling circuit, conquering great runs in both sports, resulting in a UFC contract in 2004.

Terrell’s UFC debut ended by way of quick and brutal KO against former Olympic medallist Matt Lindland. The promoters were so pleased with the win they decided to offer David a shot at the middleweight title against Evan Tanner (RIP). The title fight occurred on February 2005 and ended in a disappointing loss. The loss against Tanner left more permanent damage than a bruised-up body, David fell into depression and was near suicidal, as reported by  Sherdog.com .

Even training poorly due to the psychological effect left by the missed title shot, Dave Terrell managed to pull a strong performance against Scott Smith in his last UFC bout. He was offered fights against Yushin Okami (UFC 66) and Ed Herman (UFC 78) but had to drop from both fights due to injuries, being eventually cut from the organization on February 21, 2008.

David Terrell kept active in the sport as an instructor at Cesar Gracie’s gym before opening his own academy, the aforementioned NorCal Fighting Alliance.

David Terrell vs. Keith Rockel

David Terrell vs. Todd Margolis
## Specialties

- guard passing
## Achievements

- ADCC Trials Champion (2003)
- Gracie Open Superfight Champion (2002, 2003)
- Grapplers Quest West Coast Tournament Champion (2002)
- ADCC 3rd Place (2003)
## Lineage

- Carlos Gracie (Red Belt)
- Robson Gracie (Red Belt)
- Cesar Gracie (Black Belt)

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**Last Updated:** September 08, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/david-terrell)