Top 10th Planet competitor Kiaya Jackson has just been promoted to black belt by her coach and one of the biggest figures in the affiliation, Brandon McCaghren. It’ll probably come as a surprise to anyone who’s been following Jackson’s competitive career to learn that she’s isn’t already a black belt given her fantastic results on the mats. Jackson is a pretty prolific competitor and she’s already had great matches with some of the best grapplers in the world. In fact, some of Jackson’s biggest accomplishments to date have actually come in her coach McCaghren’s own promotion; the Professional Grappling Federation.
Jackson is a two-time PGF champion and most recently she fought in the co-main event of the PGF World Season 6 finale, winning in yet another impressive performance. She has also had several entertaining matches on the Medusa mats too, as she is a three-time finalist in the all-female promotion’s tournaments. She came within inches of winning a Medusa title on both occasions and that isn’t the only time she’s nearly added more silverware to her collection. She also challenged for the SOGI Pro flyweight title and has stepped on the mats in several other major promotions around the US.
Alongside her impressive competitive career, Jackson also serves as one of the Jiu-Jitsu coaches under McCaghren at 10th Planet Decatur and the head coach of Fitness Tribe. Obviously her promotion to black belt is incredibly hard-earned and well-deserved, and it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for Kiaya Jackson from now on. She’s a really talented grappler who could go very far and she still has plenty of time left in her athletic prime, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see her on the podium of ADCC Trials or other major events in the future.
Kiaya Jackson announced the news that she had been promoted to black belt by her coach Brandon McCaghren a recent post to her official Instagram account:
