American black belts have traditionally always fared well at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships, and this year's tournament was no exception. Altogether, four U.S. black belts secured gold medals in Anaheim, CA, this past weekend in Josh Hinger, Keenan Cornelius, Jena Bishop, and Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto. 

Clockwise from top left: Gold medalists Josh Hinger, Keenan Cornelius, Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto and Jena Bishop. 

For Hinger and Keenan, it was their second time winning gold at the event, with Hinger previously winning a title in 2016 and Keenan taking gold in 2014. Their victories in Anaheim over the weekend contributed to Atos taking the overall team trophy. 

Bishop and Pa’aluhi Canuto, however, were both first-time champions. Bishop, a frequent sight in major tournaments, hadn’t fought a no-gi match since she was a blue belt, while Pa’aluhi Canuto won No-Gi Worlds in 2016 as a brown belt — huge achievements for both competitors. 

When we go through the results page we find a number of American grapplers who made it to the podium. In all, U.S. athletes took four golds, three silvers, and 13 bronze medals. 

When we compared that to 2016, we saw that the results were almost identical. American black belts won four golds, four silvers, and 13 bronze medals. 

Scroll down for the full list of medalists in 2017 and 2016 

2017 U.S. black belt medalists 

GOLD

Josh Hinger – middleweight 

Keenan Cornelius – medium heavyweight  

Jena Bishop – lightweight 

Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto – middleweight 

SILVER 

AJ Agazarm – lightweight

Roberto Torralbas – heavyweight

Heather Raftery – lightweight 

BRONZE 

Jimmy Santiago – roosterweight

Rene Lopez – light featherweight

Gianni Grippo – featherweight  

Michael Liera Jr – middleweight

David Mitchell – heavyweight 

Eliot Kelly – super heavyweight 

Aaron Johnson – super heavyweight  

Adam Sachnoff – ultra heavyweight 

Jared Dopp – ultra heavyweight 

Keenan Cornelius – absolute 

Fiona Watson – light featherweight 

Maia Matalon – middleweight

Amanda Loewen – absolute 

2016 U.S. black belt medalist

GOLD

Michael Musumeci Jr – light featherweight

Josh Hinger – medium heavyweight  

Tammi Musumeci – lightweight

Amanda Alequin – middleweight 

SILVER 

Jon Satava – middleweight 

Jared Dopp – super heavyweight  

Fiona Watson – light featherweight 

Megan Nevill – medium heavyweight  

BRONZE 

Rene Lopez – light featherweight 

AJ Agazarm – lightweight

Mansher Khera – lightweight 

William Bush – heavyweight  

Nick Shrock – heavyweight  

Paul Ibarra – super heavyweight  

Aaron Johnson – ultra heavyweight  

Jared Dopp – absolute 

Chelsea Bainbridge Donner – featherweight  

Julie Hopnick – middleweight 

Amanda Loewen – middleweight 

Leanna Dittrich – medium heavyweight  

Amanda Loewen – absolute