Eric Phan

Eric Phan was born on August 14, 1995, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the son of Vietnamese immigrants who settled in the city's west end. Growing up there, Phan developed a deep appetite for martial arts early on, beginning with taekwondo at age 10. Rather than narrowing his focus, he continued building a striking foundation that came to include muay Thai, karate, and boxing — an unusually broad base for a young athlete still searching for his true passion.

The turning point arrived at age 14, when Phan relocated to Scarborough on Toronto's east side. In July 2010, friends familiar with the grappling arts encouraged him to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The recommendation proved life-changing. Within three weeks of stepping onto the mats for the first time, Phan entered his first BJJ tournament — and won gold. That immediate competitive success signaled not just natural talent, but a temperament ideally suited to the demands of high-level grappling.

Building the Foundation at Toronto BJJ

Eric Phan's formative years in jiu-jitsu unfolded at Toronto BJJ, where the teens program was led by Eduardo Dib and Oscar Dewindt. These two instructors established the technical groundwork during Phan's earliest years on the mats. As he transitioned into the adult program, head coach Jorge Britto took charge of his development — a coaching relationship that would prove foundational to his entire competitive career.

Purple Belt Expansion and the Open Mat Chapter

During his purple belt years, Phan broadened his training environment by working with Elliot Bayev at Open Mat MMA. That partnership produced strong results on the international stage, with Phan representing Open Mat MMA through a prolific stretch of competition in Europe. Following that chapter, Phan returned to Toronto BJJ and Jorge Britto's guidance, receiving both his brown belt and his black belt from Britto — the latter awarded in July 2017. At the black belt level, Phan competes under the banner of Jiu-Jitsu For Life – Toronto Academy.

Few competitors in Canadian BJJ history have established the kind of sustained dominance at a single event that Eric Phan built at the IBJJF Toronto Open. His run began in 2012 with a gold medal in the Juvenile division — the opening chapter of a multi-belt streak unlike anything the Canadian circuit had witnessed.

Phan returned the following year to claim the blue belt title at the 2013 IBJJF Toronto Open, then carried that momentum into the purple belt division with back-to-back gold medals at the 2014 IBJJF Toronto Open and 2015 IBJJF Toronto Open. The streak continued at brown belt with another title at the 2016 IBJJF Toronto Open, before Phan completed the full-belt cycle by capturing gold at the 2019 IBJJF Toronto Open as a black belt. Six titles spanning the juvenile, blue, purple, brown, and black belt divisions represent not just competitive excellence, but a rare degree of longevity and consistency at a single major event.

Dominating the European Open

Eric Phan's reputation extends well beyond the Canadian competition scene. During his purple belt years, competing under Elliot Bayev's Open Mat MMA, Phan traveled to Portugal and delivered back-to-back performances at the IBJJF European Open, winning gold in both 2014 and 2015. Those victories established him as one of the top purple belts in the world at the time and confirmed that his success at the Toronto Open was no regional anomaly.

Juvenile World Stage and Early International Exposure

Phan's international exposure began on the juvenile circuit, where he earned a bronze medal at the IBJJF World Championship Juvenile division in 2011, followed by a silver medal at the same event in 2012. He also reached the final of the IBJJF World Championship Juvenile No-Gi in 2011, showcasing versatility across both gi and no-gi competition from a young age.

Brown Belt Worlds and the Black Belt Era

The most significant result of Phan's colored belt career came in 2017, when he reached the final of the IBJJF World Championship at brown belt, finishing as runner-up on the sport's most prestigious gi stage. That performance, paired with a gold medal at the 2017 IBJJF Chicago Spring Open the same year, underscored just how close he stood to the very top of the sport's competitive hierarchy heading into his black belt career. After receiving his black belt from Jorge Britto in July 2017, Phan continued to perform at an elite level, claiming silver at the 2019 IBJJF Atlanta Winter Open and gold at the 2019 IBJJF Toronto Open — affirming his standing as one of Canada's most accomplished competitors in the modern era of the sport.