# Luke Harris

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## Overview

**Name:** Luke Harris


## Bio

Luke Harris was born on July 31, 1977, in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada though he grew up in St. Albert, Alberta, where he spent his formative years to adulthood.

The first martial art to captivate Harris was judo, which he started at the age of 8 (1995) under the guidance of Keith Walters & Mark HIcks. Being a high-energy child, Luke practiced several sports growing up, but the Japanese art of throwing was the one he stuck to the most, earning his black belt when he was 18.

As a teenager, Luke added Club Rugby to his activities, playing for St. Albert and, later, the University of Guelph in Ontario. Outside the rugby pitch, he won several Provincial judo championships in Alberta & Ontario while coached by Ron Angus. Luke also medaled at national judo championships and won eastern collegiate nationals (coached by PSU Judo / NCAA wrestling coach Hachiro Oishi).

When he completed his degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph, Luke Harris opted to pursue his lifelong dream of having a career in judo at the highest level. With this objective in mind, he moved to Japan in 2000, living at the Kodokan Institute in Tokyo, training 2-3 times per day and competing extensively under the tutelage of Sensei Fukazawa & Sensei Kaneo Iwatsuri.

After his experience in Japan, Harris relocated to Montreal, Canada, to train with the Canadian National Judo Team under Nicholas Gill & Sensei Hiroshi Nakamura. It was with judo in mind that Luke started training jiu-jitsu in 2006, following his friend Scott Edward’s (RIP) advice, who believed this would be a perfect fit to improve Harris’ ground skills ( newaza ).

Luke’s jiu-jitsu training began at Brazilian Top Team (BTT) Montreal, where he met MMA legend George St. Pierre. He would eventually participate in a few of the former UFC Welterweight King’s training camps.

From Montreal, Harris headed to Brazil to compete in a few international judo tournaments, after which he opted to remain in the country to focus on mixed martial arts (MMA) at BTT Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro at a time when the training camp’s heyday with athletes like Ze Mario Sperry, Murilo Bustamante, The Nogueira Brothers, Rousimar Palhares and more.

When he returned to Canada, he began his MMA career, fighting professionally from 2007-2014, amassing a record of 10 wins and 3 losses. His involvement with cage-fighting led Harris to start the Hayabusa Fightwear Inc. brand in 2006 following with Hayabusa Training Centre two years later.

While preparing for all aspects of MMA, Luke Harris earned his black belt in BJJ from coach  Robert Drysdale  in 2011.

Once his first child was born, in 2014 Luke opted to retire from MMA, which happened shortly after he participated in the famous The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) show produced by the UFC. He went on to focus on his students at the Hayabusa TC and shifted his competitive nature to jiu-jitsu, where he became one of the winningest Masters Division athletes ever in the sport.

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**Last Updated:** March 21, 2026

**Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/people/luke-harris-aca07fa3d263)