Practice Jiu Jitsu

Giancarlo Bodoni is from Miami, a black belt under Lucas Lepri, a gi specialist. He was teaching at Bernardo Faria’s academy in Boston when he met John Danaher and Gordon Ryan there, working with them on instructional videos. He won an IBJJF World title at brown belt, then moved to no gi full time. By his team’s account, the transition did not go well at first.

In October 2021 he left Boston and the teaching job for Austin, to train with Danaher and Ryan full time. A month later, on November 6, he won the ADCC East Coast Trials at 88kg, putting him in the 2022 Worlds. His gym calls it one of the biggest turnarounds it has seen.

He went into ADCC 2022 unfancied at 88kg. He beat Isaque Bahiense on points, submitted Matheus Diniz, took Eoghan O’Flanagan by toe hold, and finished Lucas Barbosa in the final for gold, after roughly a year training full time in no gi.

Bodoni credits Danaher with changing how he reads a match: instead of thinking about where he needed to get to, focus only on the position he’s in now, execute, wait for the reaction, then engage whatever system results. It keeps a match from feeling overwhelming.

At ADCC 2024 he beat Gabriel Almeida by decision in the quarterfinals, Felipe Costa in the semifinals, and Jay Rodriguez in the final by points, becoming the first man to win 88kg at two straight ADCCs. Only Saulo Ribeiro had won it twice before, in 2000 and 2003.

In December 2024, at 29 and fresh off going back to back, he signed with ONE Championship. Middleweight around 93kg was the expected spot, since 88kg was the lightest he’d competed. A third straight ADCC title in 2026 looked like the next milestone.

He had two operations in early 2026, about a month apart: first his knee, put off until he could no longer train properly, then his elbow. He is not on the ADCC 2026 list. The 88kg division in Krakow will crown a new champion.

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These boys leveled up! One of the greatest things to see as a coach is these dads leading by example. Congratulations Ronan, Gavin, and Barrett. You are all great examples of martial artists.