Anabel Lopez's Profile

Anabel Lopez Beard was born on June 6, 2005, in Galicia, Spain, to a Dominican mother and an English father. Her early childhood unfolded across Monforte de Lemos and the Dominican Republic, an upbringing shaped by multiple cultures and continents. Before combat sports claimed her focus, volleyball was her first athletic outlet — until a pivotal moment of inspiration redirected her entirely.

Watching Ronda Rousey dismantle opponents in the UFC bantamweight division with her judo-based fighting style ignited a fierce curiosity in Anabel for martial arts. At age 8, she asked her parents to enroll her in a judo club, and her natural talent revealed itself almost immediately. After just one year on the judo mats, her coach recognized that her aptitude extended well beyond a single discipline and encouraged her to explore other martial arts. That suggestion coincided with her father discovering a leaflet advertising jiu-jitsu classes at a local health club — a seemingly small moment that would define her athletic future.

Anabel began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Alpha Wolf Pack club under the instruction of Luis Castaño. With no children's program available, she trained alongside adults from day one — an environment that sharpened her technical development and steeled her for the competitive challenges ahead.

Anabel's connection to London developed naturally through family ties. Her grandparents were based in the city, and regular visits during school vacations gave her early exposure to the UK's BJJ community. In 2015, her Spanish instructor Luis Castaño pointed her toward Fightzone Academy in London, recognizing it as one of the finest junior programs in Europe. That summer, she trained under coach Marco Canha at Fightzone — an experience that deepened her commitment to the sport and introduced her to a peer group of equally driven young competitors.

In 2016, Anabel relocated to London with her father and joined Fightzone full-time, beginning a long and formative chapter in her development as a grappler. She established herself quickly as one of the standout athletes within Fightzone's celebrated junior program, accumulating international victories across both juvenile and adult divisions. Her training partners during this period included future European circuit stars such as Nia Blackman, Junior Fernandes, Laura Sieradzan, and Rodrigo Mariani — a cohort that reflected the exceptional standard Fightzone maintained in its junior development pathway.

Building her record through IBJJF events at juvenile and colored belt levels, Anabel steadily grew her reputation across the European BJJ scene, winning consistently against peers well beyond her years.

Anabel's rise was not without interruption. Between the ages of 15 and 16, she stepped away from jiu-jitsu for approximately one year — a hiatus shaped by the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and a social environment that pulled her away from the training room. Her return to the Fightzone mats in late 2021 was immediate and emphatic: within weeks of her comeback, she claimed gold at an IBJJF European Championship, signaling that the time away had done nothing to dull her competitive edge.

Purple Belt Dominance and a Run Through the Ranks

What followed was a remarkable charge through the colored belt divisions. At purple belt in 2023, Anabel won gold at the IBJJF World Championship in both gi and No-Gi formats, demonstrating elite consistency across rulesets. She carried that momentum into 2024, adding the IBJJF World Championship brown belt title to her record before stepping into black belt competition. That same year, she claimed gold at the ADCC Wales Championship in both the weight and absolute categories, underscoring her effectiveness as a submission grappler across formats.

Black Belt Promotion on the World Championship Podium

The defining moment of Anabel's career arrived in June 2024, when long-time coach Marco Canha promoted her to black belt — not in a gym ceremony, but on the podium steps of the IBJJF World Championships, moments after she had claimed No-Gi gold at the sport's most prestigious event. The symbolic weight of that promotion, earned and awarded in the same breath, marked her as one of the youngest BJJ black belts ever promoted in the United Kingdom. Competing under the banner of Checkmat through Fightzone and representing Great Britain in the Pesado division, Anabel Lopez Beard enters the black belt era with a competitive record and a story that few athletes her age can match.