2025 has begun and we have a great year of Jiu-Jitsu action ahead of us. We always talk about the top grappling athletes, but never about their elite coaches guiding them to world titles.
Here is a current list of the current six best Jiu-Jitsu coaches in the world. Check out the list below and let us know who you think deserves to be mentioned.
John Danaher: New Wave Jiu-Jitsu
- Danaher’s Top Students: Gordon Ryan, Helena Crevar, Giancarlo Bodoni, Garry Tonon, Nicholas Meregali
For the last decade, John Danaher has firmly taken his place among the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu coaches. Every year his athletes put on impressive performances at the world’s biggest competitions.
Last year was no different as Giancarlo Bodoni won his 2nd ADCC gold medal and Helena Crevar became a world champion. Going into 2025, you can expect Danaher’s students to continue showing out in big matches worldwide.
André Galvão: Atos Jiu-Jitsu
- Andre’s Top Students: Kaynan Duarte, Lucas Barbosa, Josh Hinger, Rafaela Guedes, Ruotolo Bros
Andre Galao’s Atos squad had arguably one of the greatest years in the affiliation’s history last year. In 2024, Kaynan Duarte dominated at ADCC to win another gold medal and Rafaela Guedes secured her first ADCC title.
We also can’t forget the Ruotolo brothers’ incredible performance at CGI 1 and Kade Ruotolo winning it all. Galvão has more than proved that he is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu coaches on the planet.
The Mendes Bros: Art of Jiu-Jitsu
- AoJ’s Top Students: Tainan Dalpra, Cole Abate, Mateus Rodrigues, Fellipe Andrew, Jessa Khan
Art of Jiu-Jitsu has quickly become a powerhouse team in the Jiu-Jitsu world. The Mendes brothers have built an incredibly diverse team of killer grapplers.
Rafa and Gui’s students have their own unique styles and each is incredibly hard to beat. It’s hard not to argue that the Mendes brothers aren’t two of the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu coaches.
Their crew has dominated both in Gi and No-Gi competition. You can expect more of the same from AoJ in 2025.
Melqui Galvão: Escola Melqui Galvão Manaus
- Melqui’s Top Students: Mica Galvão, Diogo Reis
Melqui Galvão is another one of the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu coaches. In 2024, the Manaus boys went ferocious in competition. Mica Galvão won the IBJJF triple crown, while also winning his first ADCC title.
Baby Shark Reis secured his 2nd ADCC title while going undefeated in 2024. Melqui Galvão’s crew has firmly placed their names among the top grappling athletes.
This year, who knows what the Manaus boys have in store for us. Maybe we’ll see them in the CJI 2-team tournament going down in August.
Marcelo Garcia: Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu
- Marcelo’s Top Students: Gianni Grippo, Matheus Diniz
Marcelo Garcia is indisputably one of the GOATs of grappling. He is also arguably one of the best Jiu-Jitsu coaches in the world.
During Garcia’s hiatus from competition, the GOAT has built an elite-level Jiu-Jitsu academy. Some of his top students include ADCC champion Matheus Diniz and 2x No-Gi champ Gianni Grippo.
With Marcelo returning to action this year, we’re anxious to see how he and his team perform.
Heath Pedigo: Pedigo Submission Fighting
- Notable Students: Jacob Couch, Dante León, Michael Pixley
Grappling fans have enjoyed seeing the meteoric rise of the Pedigo Submission Fighting Team. Coach Heath Pedigo has spent decades building his American Jiu-Jitsu team into one of the world’s best academies.
The team includes fan favorites from “The Hillbilly Hammer” Jacob Couch to 2x No-Gi world champion Dante Leon. We also can’t forget Michael Pixley who put the grappling world on notice by beating Nicholas Meregali.
Heath Pedigo has firmly taken his place as one of the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu coaches. His team is set for a huge breakout year in 2025.
Dima Murovanni
- Dima’s Top Students: Jozef Chen, Nicky Rodriguez, Owen Jones
Dima Murovanni made a huge splash in 2024 and marked himself as one of the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu coaches. B-Team hired Dima to run their ADCC and CJI training camps in 2024 and the results spoke for themselves.
Numerous B-Team athletes put on career performances in both events. These standout performances have now made Dima one of the world’s most sought-after coaches.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.