Injana Goodman

Injana Goodman was born in August 2003 in Alicante, Spain, and spent her early childhood near Valladolid before her family relocated to the United Kingdom when she was eleven years old. Settling in London, Goodman grew up shaped by a dual Spanish and British identity — a background that would later inform her competitive representation under the British flag on the international grappling circuit.

Goodman began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in August 2018, shortly after turning fifteen, stepping onto the mats at Max Bickerton's academy in London. Her early years in the sport were spent competing in the gi, building the foundational movement and positional awareness that would later underpin her No-Gi game. From purple belt onward, Goodman made a defining stylistic commitment — transitioning to full-time No-Gi competition and sharpening her focus on the ADCC and IBJJF rulesets that would come to define her competitive identity.

Goodman's belt progression under Max Bickerton at Grapple Collective in London traces a clear and accelerating trajectory from enthusiastic teenager to elite black belt. She received her blue belt on July 12, 2021 — roughly three years into her training — followed by her purple belt on January 13, 2023, her brown belt on July 19, 2024, and her black belt on June 30, 2025. Every promotion was awarded by Bickerton, reflecting a closely mentored and consistent development path.

Her lineage connects her to the very roots of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through an unbroken chain: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Mauricio Gomes > Jude Samuel > Max Bickerton > Injana Goodman.

The colored belt years were far from quiet. Goodman's exclusive focus on No-Gi from purple belt onward paid tangible dividends, with titles accumulating across the sport's most prestigious stages. She claimed gold at the IBJJF European No-Gi Championship as both a purple belt in 2023 and a brown belt in 2024, won the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship at purple belt, and took first place at the UWW Grappling World Championships in 2024. These results established her as one of the most accomplished colored belt No-Gi competitors of her generation and made her black belt debut in 2025 a widely anticipated event.

Goodman's rookie black belt season validated the entire trajectory of her colored belt career. The year's most significant result came at the ADCC European & Middle East Trials, where she won the Women's 65 kg division to earn qualification for the ADCC World Championships — a milestone that announced her arrival at the sport's highest level of No-Gi competition.

On the IBJJF circuit, her 2025 season was equally commanding. At the IBJJF European No-Gi Championship, she claimed gold in the 67 kg black belt division and reached the Absolute final, finishing as runner-up. She carried that momentum into the IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship, where she again reached two finals, taking silver in both the 67 kg division and the Absolute. Across these events, Goodman demonstrated the consistency and competitive pedigree of an athlete whose years of colored belt experience had fully prepared her for the demands of black belt competition under both ADCC and IBJJF rulesets.

Goodman's competition style is built on top-game pressure and positional dominance. A committed top player, she favors imposing physical control and advancing position over guard-based approaches — a style particularly well-suited to ADCC scoring systems, which reward takedowns and top control, and to the submission-oriented formats she encounters across her competition schedule.

Her exclusive focus on No-Gi, maintained since her purple belt days, has allowed her to build a game specifically calibrated to the demands of ADCC and IBJJF No-Gi rulesets. Goodman competes primarily at Middleweight (69 kg / 152.5 lbs) while regularly entering the 67 kg No-Gi division and the Absolute, demonstrating comfort and adaptability across weight classes. This style and specialization have been cultivated through years of dedicated training at Grapple Collective in London under Max Bickerton.

Beyond her competition results, Goodman emerged in 2025 as a notable public voice within the No-Gi grappling community. Following public statements she made about inequality at ADCC, she was featured on JitsMagazine's JitsCast podcast, episode 47, published on September 22, 2025. Her willingness to speak openly on structural issues within the sport distinguished her as more than a competitive talent — it marked her as an athlete engaged with the broader culture and governance of No-Gi grappling at the highest level. The platform and recognition she gained through that appearance reflected the wider visibility she earned during her breakout black belt season.