Michael Pixley has just been promoted to BJJ black belt after winning the brown belt super-heavyweight division at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2025. He had the belt tied around his waist on the podium after receiving his gold medal and it came from his long-time coach Heath Pedigo. Pixley is already regarded as one of the top no gi grapplers in the world and he was able to demonstrate exactly why at this event. Pixley enjoyed a dominant run and beat 3 of the best brown belts in his weight class to win the title on his very first attempt.
He enjoyed his first major breakthrough moment last year when he won the under 99kg division at the ADCC North American West Coast Trials 2024, even though he was just a purple belt at the time. Pixley then came in as an underdog in a very tough division at ADCC 2024, but he ended up finishing fourth and delivering one of the most memorable moments of the whole tournament along the way. He kicked things off with an upset over a more established competitor in the opening round anyway, but it was his huge submission win over Nicholas Meregali in the second round that really stood out.
Pixley was later promoted to brown belt and he made his official debut at that level at the IBJJF No Gi Pan Championship 2025, where he stormed to victory with a 100% submission rate. That gave him one of the top seeds for No Gi Worlds and he was the only ADCC veteran in the bracket, setting him apart as the clear favorite. He delivered on that early promise with a run that was as close to flawless as most people will ever get. Now Pixley has the chance to test himself against the highest level of competition at IBJJF majors next year, and he’ll likely return for ADCC 2026 too.
The full IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2025 event replay, including Michael Pixley winning gold and being promoted to BJJ black belt on the podium, is available to watch on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
