# Luke Griffith

> Black Belt | South Africa

## Overview

**Name:** Luke Griffith

**Belt Rank:** Black Belt

**Nationality:** South Africa

**Gender:** Male

**Weight:** 99 kg

**Date of Birth:** December 27, 2000 (age 25)


## Bio

Luke Griffith was born on December 27, 2000, in South Africa.

Being the son of a jiu-jitsu practitioner and black belt, it didn’t take long until Luke started learning the sport. By the time he was 5 years old, he was already on the mats with his dad, Lloyd Griffith.

Although his training started with his father, coach Bobby Karagiannidis was also an important piece of Luke’s early jiu-jitsu upbringing. He also promoted Griffith up to the purple belt rank. As the young athlete grew up he became more interested in the no-gi aspect of the game, leading to his decision to travel to the USA to train with one of the best coaches in the game,  John Danaher .

In November 2021, Luke took his first vacation to Austin, Texas. His idea was to train as much as possible at the Renzo Gracie Academy there, where coach John Danaher taught to a standard/hobbyist crowd, but after assessing Griffith’s talent, Danaher invited the South African to come and train with John’s professional athletes workgroup at the Roka Training Centre where he eventually earned his brown belt on June 25, 2022.
## Gym Affiliations

- **Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu** (Austin, United States) — Student
## Specialties

- rnc
## Achievements

- GrappleFest U100kg Title (2023)
- 1st Place ADCC EU & Africa Trials (2022 / 2023)
- 2nd Place ADCC (2024)
- 2nd Place UFC Fight Pass Invitational (2022)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2022 / 2023**)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2022 / 2023**)
- 1st Place IBJJF European Championship NOGI (2023**)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2022*)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2022*)
## Lineage

- Carlos Gracie (Red Belt)
- Hélio Gracie (Red Belt)
- Carlos Gracie Junior (Coral Belt)
- Renzo Gracie (Black Belt)
- John Danaher (Black Belt)
## Links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luke_griffithjj/

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**Last Updated:** October 11, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/luke-griffith)