Joe Dierkhising

Born on May 29, 1989, in Santa Rosa, California, Joe Dierkhising spent his formative years across multiple locations throughout the state, including St. Helena and San Diego. From an early age, he embraced a wide range of athletic pursuits — skateboarding, surfing, water polo, and competitive swimming among them. His swimming career reached the Junior Olympics level through the AAU program, establishing the endurance and competitive discipline that would later define his approach to martial arts.

During his collegiate years, Dierkhising channeled that athletic foundation into triathlon, demonstrating a consistent drive to push physical limits across disciplines. Martial arts, however, remained a thread woven throughout his development. He trained in Japanese Ju-Jutsu as a child, transitioned to taekwondo in his pre-teen years, and later made his most serious early commitment to combat sports through Muay Thai — compiling an amateur record of 3-0-0 before his focus shifted decisively toward the grappling arts.

Dierkhising's path into BJJ emerged naturally from his Muay Thai environment. After watching striking training partners roll no-gi after class for roughly a year, he joined them in 2010 under coach Justin Frazier. That informal introduction planted the seeds for what would grow into a dedicated grappling career.

Following his graduation in 2012, Dierkhising relocated to San Diego and began formal BJJ training under Adriano Camolese. His progression through the belt ranks reflected both his athletic background and his commitment to technical development: he earned his blue belt in 2013 under Eduardo Guedes, and his purple belt in 2014 from Kelley Perotti and Shannone Callos. A subsequent move to Houston, Texas, brought him into the BJJ Revolution system under Jeff Messina, the instructor who guided the final stages of his development. Messina promoted Dierkhising to brown belt in 2017 and to black belt in January 2019.

Throughout this journey, Dierkhising has balanced his commitment to jiu-jitsu with a professional career as a geophysicist — a testament to the discipline and time-management that have characterized his athletic life from the beginning.

Dierkhising has built a compelling record as a part-time competitor on the professional grappling circuit, with his most significant results concentrated in the no-gi format. At the colored belt level, he claimed gold at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship in 2017, then followed that performance with a first-place finish in the Absolute division at the Onnit Invitational in 2018.

His black belt debut on the major competition stage was equally impressive. In 2021, Dierkhising earned a silver medal at the 2021 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, competing in the Super-Pesado division (100.5 kg / 222.0 lbs). He added a bronze medal at the 2021 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship that same year, completing a breakthrough season that demonstrated his ability to contend at the sport's highest levels despite competing on a part-time basis.

A pivotal chapter in Dierkhising's black belt development began in 2018, when Australian no-gi specialist Craig Jones visited Houston for a seminar. The two forged a friendship during that trip, one that deepened into a regular training partnership after Jones relocated to Austin, Texas, in 2021 to establish the headquarters of B-Team. From that point on, Dierkhising became a consistent presence at the facility, making weekly trips to train under Jones's guidance.

This dual affiliation — maintaining his technical roots with BJJ Revolution in Houston while integrating into the elite no-gi environment at B-Team — has sharpened his competitive edge at the black belt level. The high-level preparation available at B-Team complements the foundational development he built under Jeff Messina, supporting his continued success on the pro grappling circuit.