Alexander Sak

Alexander Sak was born in March 1992 in Zaozerniy, a small town in Siberia, Russia, where he spent his first seventeen years. Growing up in a region where physical culture ran deep, Sak gravitated toward sport from an early age, pursuing judo and soccer as his primary disciplines. These early pursuits instilled a foundation of balance, timing, and competitive discipline that would serve him throughout his career.

At age 17, Sak added sambo to his training regimen and took to the discipline with remarkable speed, earning the prestigious Master of Sports title. In 2012, he claimed a bronze medal at the Russian Junior Sambo Championship. That Combat Sambo background — blending explosive throws, dominant top control, and submission finishing — would prove a defining influence on the grappler he would later become.

Sak's introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came at the end of 2013, initially as a tool to sharpen his Combat Sambo game. What began as a supplementary pursuit gradually became a central focus. Among his early influences was training partner Vaha Aushev, whose guidance played a meaningful role in his foundational development on the mats.

He trained with Team Strela in Siberia before relocating to Moscow in 2016, continuing under the instruction of Dmitry Selivakhin at Team Strela's headquarters. Selivakhin guided Sak's progression from white belt through brown belt. During this same period, black belt Rodrigo Cabral — known as Brucutu — provided technical assistance to Team Strela and worked directly with Sak, forging a relationship that would prove pivotal to his development.

Seeking a more competitive environment and deeper technical immersion, Sak traveled to the United States to train at Cabral's Fight Factory academy. On April 14, 2020, Cabral awarded Sak his black belt — a recognition of years of dedicated development across two continents. His lineage traces through one of the sport's most storied lines: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Leonardo Vieira > Rodrigo Cabral > Alexander Sak. He competes under the banner of Nova Jiu-Jitsu Team.

Following his black belt promotion in 2020, Sak relocated to Germany, beginning a chapter that would take time to fully unfold on the international BJJ stage. In the early period after his move, he competed in Newaza tournaments organized by a Ju-Jutsu Federation — non-BJJ grappling events in which he initially represented Russia. These competitions, while contested at a high level, existed largely outside the mainstream BJJ circuit.

In 2022, Sak's trajectory shifted when he became a representative of the German Army, a contract that afforded him the resources to train and compete on a full-time basis. However, the Newaza Ju-Jutsu tournament calendar frequently overlapped with major international BJJ events, limiting his visibility on the IBJJF and AJP circuits during this stretch. When his German Army contract concluded in 2024, Sak redirected his competitive focus entirely toward mainstream international BJJ, increasing his activity on both circuits and earning considerably broader recognition within the global BJJ community. Though born in Russia, Sak competes representing Germany.

Alexander Sak has established himself as one of the sport's most formidable ultra-heavyweights, competing in the Pesadissimo division above 100.5 kilograms. His competitive identity is built on relentless pressure passing — using weight, top control, and positional suffocation to systematically break down opponents before pursuing the finish. This approach draws visibly from his Combat Sambo and judo roots, translating the dominance of top position into a coherent and difficult-to-escape system.

The Paper Cutter Choke stands as Sak's signature submission, the technique most closely associated with his finishing game and a natural extension of the smothering top pressure he applies throughout his matches. The Kimura represents another reliable weapon in his arsenal. As of early 2026, his competitive record stood at 41 wins and 7 losses per BJJ Heroes, with a win distribution reflecting genuine all-around finishing ability: approximately 39% of victories by points, 41% by submission, 15% by decision, and 5% by advantages. His 17 submission victories underscore the effectiveness of a game built around control and the finish — though the precise breakdown by specific technique is not documented in publicly available records.

The full scope of Sak's talent became apparent to the broader BJJ world following his increased activity on the international circuit from 2024 onward. On the AJP Tour, he emerged as a dominant force at ultra-heavyweight, stringing together results that confirmed his standing among the division's elite.

2025 Season Highlights

The signature moment of his career came at the 2025 AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship, where Sak claimed gold in the 120kg division by defeating Dennis Souza in the final — a result that announced his arrival at the top of the ultra-heavyweight landscape. He also captured the 2025 AJP Grand Slam Abu Dhabi title at 120kg, adding further weight to an already impressive AJP season. A second Grand Slam title in 2025 has been attributed to Sak in some records, though that result awaits independent confirmation. On the IBJJF side, he reached the final of the 2025 IBJJF European Championship No-Gi in the over-97kg division, finishing as runner-up.

A Long and Methodical Climb

Sak's trajectory at the black belt level builds on a consistent pattern of high performance across belt ranks. He finished runner-up at the 2020 IBJJF European Championship at brown belt and placed second at the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro at blue belt in 2016 — demonstrating that his standing at the top of the ultra-heavyweight division is the product of a long and methodical competitive climb, not a sudden emergence.