Daniel "Big Dan" Manasoiu is a Romanian-American submission grappling standout whose imposing 6-foot-7 frame makes him one of the most physically distinctive competitors in the modern no-gi scene. His height and reach inform a style built around long-range control and leverage-intensive submission sequences — a natural fit for the systematic leg lock and positional dominance philosophy championed by New Wave Jiu-Jitsu.

Manasoiu trains under John Danaher, the most influential no-gi coach of his generation, absorbing the analytically rigorous methodology that defines New Wave's identity. Technical precision and deliberate problem-solving anchor the program, and that environment has sharpened Manasoiu's ability to impose his physical advantages with strategic intent. Alongside his competitive career, he serves as a coach at Ralph Gracie's academy — a dual role that reflects both his standing as an elite competitor and his commitment to developing the next generation of grapplers. The combination of high-level training under Danaher and front-line coaching experience gives Manasoiu an unusually broad perspective on the sport.

Manasoiu's trajectory through the ADCC ecosystem has been one of consistent upward progression. His emergence began at the qualification stage, where he earned double gold at the ADCC Trials — a result that announced him as a serious threat before he ever stepped onto the World Championships mat. The Trials demand championship-level execution across a grueling bracket format that pits hundreds of regional competitors against one another, and winning two gold medals there demonstrated that Manasoiu performs under pressure.

He translated that success into back-to-back appearances at the ADCC World Championships, one of the most selective stages in all of submission grappling. The signature result of his career came at the 2024 ADCC World Championships, where he earned a bronze medal — a podium finish that validated his standing among the sport's elite and carried particular weight given the serious health challenges he navigated in the lead-up to the event.

Beyond the World Championships, Manasoiu has built an extensive record of dominance on the ADCC Open circuit, accumulating 12 gold medals across those events as of August 2026. That breadth of Open results illustrates a competitor who performs with elite consistency across a long competitive calendar, not merely peaking for marquee occasions. Central to that preparation has been the New Wave training environment, including the contributions of teammate Ezekiel — known within the team as "Buba" — who has been a fixture of the program's ADCC training camps.

Rhabdomyolysis and ADCC 2024

The lead-up to the 2024 ADCC World Championships was complicated by a diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis — a serious condition involving the breakdown of muscle tissue that releases damaging proteins into the bloodstream. Manasoiu subsequently reported related kidney damage. That he competed at all under those circumstances, let alone reached the podium with a bronze medal, underscores the physical and psychological commitment he brought to that event.

Lyme Disease and the Craig Jones Invitational 2

In August 2025, Manasoiu withdrew from the Craig Jones Invitational 2 after being diagnosed with Lyme disease. In announcing the withdrawal, he described an aggressive treatment approach that included high-dose antibiotics, ozone therapy, and NAD+ treatments. He also praised the Texas clinic Ways2Well for administering EBOO — Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation — therapy, describing it as a "supercharged blood cleanse." Reporting at the time noted that EBOO and ozone therapy lacked clinical evidence as treatments for Lyme disease as of August 2025, a point of context that complicated his public advocacy for the protocols. Manasoiu stated that despite his treatment efforts he did not feel capable of competing at the required level, and withdrew rather than perform below his standard.

Taken together, the rhabdomyolysis episode before ADCC 2024 and the Lyme disease diagnosis in 2025 paint a picture of an athlete who has navigated recurring and serious health obstacles during a stretch of high-level competitive activity.

In September 2025, Manasoiu organized a fundraiser on behalf of his New Wave teammate Ezekiel — known within the team as "Buba" — who had undergone emergency surgery for a brain tumor and was facing a second procedure. Unable to train and confronting significant medical expenses, Ezekiel received direct public support from Manasoiu, who offered private Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons in exchange for donations to the campaign.

Manasoiu personally contributed $1,000 to the GoFundMe, and by September 22, 2025, the campaign had raised over $11,100 from 129 donations. His decision to leverage his competitive profile and coaching skills to generate financial support for a teammate illustrated the tight-knit culture within New Wave — a team whose identity is built not only around shared training methodology but around genuine personal bonds. Ezekiel's role in New Wave's ADCC preparation camps had made him a meaningful presence within the program, and Manasoiu's public advocacy on his behalf reflected the weight of that connection.

The Kyle Rittenhouse Training Photos

On January 1, 2026, Manasoiu posted Instagram photos from a private one-on-one training session with Kyle Rittenhouse, captioning the images "Good training @rittenhouse2a." The photos circulated rapidly across social platforms and generated a sharply divided response. Supportive reactions came from figures including UFC veteran Tim Kennedy, while critical commentary — particularly from the Threads account "Submitting Disinformation" — framed the episode as part of a broader debate about inclusion and political association within BJJ spaces. When Manasoiu responded to critics by sharing a photo of himself visiting a child with cancer, the account dismissed the gesture, writing, "This guy plays the victim." Supporters defended Manasoiu as warm, loyal, and principled. The incident drew wide discussion in grappling communities as emblematic of ongoing tensions around politics and belonging in the sport.

The "Moneyberg" Black Belt Debate

In August 2026, Manasoiu weighed in publicly on the controversy surrounding "Moneyberg" — born Dale Buscowski — who received a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in roughly three and a half years without ever competing in a tournament. In a widely circulated video, Manasoiu defended the promotion by emphasizing training volume and the credentials of those who endorsed it: "You gotta realize the thing about Derek is that this motherf**ker like trains. He's done more training in jiu-jitsu than most black belts. We actually do the mathematics on how many hours this guy trains." He pointed to Moneyberg's training partners as a further basis for the promotion's legitimacy: "Who's he training with? He's training with Royce Gracie, he's training with Jake Shields. These guys are signing off on it. Like, where are you to judge?"

Manasoiu was careful to define the limits of his endorsement: "Do I think that he's a world-class black belt competitor? No, absolutely not. I don't think that for half a second. I don't think he's a world-class grappler. If Derek showed up to a gym and he said that he was a black belt, you wouldn't question it." When the conversation turned to concerns about BJJ following what host Chris Vazquez called "the karate way" — meaning the commercialization and dilution of belt standards — Manasoiu pushed back by questioning the competitive incentives for wealthy practitioners: "So many black belts haven't f*king competed and they got their black belt and nobody thinks twice. If I was worth tens of millions of dollars, would I be out there going to risk getting my f*king arm broken?"

Methodological Debate and Broader Engagement

Manasoiu has also engaged in methodological debate within the sport, participating in a public exchange with coach Greg Souders about ecological training approaches in Jiu-Jitsu. Taken together, these episodes reflect a competitor who engages openly — and at times provocatively — with the philosophical and cultural questions circulating through the grappling community.