# John Kavanagh

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## Overview

**Name:** John Kavanagh

**Date of Birth:** January 18, 1977 (age 49)


## Bio

The first Irish BJJ black belt and the man widely credited with bringing the art to the Republic of Ireland, John Kavanagh built his grappling foundation on a trip to the Machado school in California in 2001 after an early workshop with John Machado in London. A blue belt from that trip, he later connected with Matt Thornton at a South African MMA event in 2001, which led to an affiliate relationship with Straight Blast Gym. Thornton promoted Kavanagh to black belt in February 2007 at SBG Ireland. He has also been instrumental in founding the Irish BJJ Association and the Irish MMA Association, and was named Coach Of The Year at the 2017 World MMA Awards by Fighters Only.
## Specialties

- N/A
## Achievements

- 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2005 purple)
- 2nd Place FILA Grappling Games (2007 brown)

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**Last Updated:** September 24, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/john-kavanagh)