Justin Flores

Justin Flores built his reputation as one of the most consequential judo coaches in American combat sports, serving as a U.S. judo coach and Team USA Olympic instructor. His work with Ronda Rousey stands as the defining chapter of his coaching career: Flores guided her through all six UFC bantamweight title defenses, a run that transformed Rousey into one of the most recognizable figures in combat sports and brought judo-based grappling to a mainstream MMA audience.

That visibility proved significant not only for Rousey's career but for judo's broader profile within competitive fighting. Positioned at the intersection of Olympic judo and professional MMA, Flores demonstrated how traditional judo principles translate into high-level competitive grappling — placing throws, grips, and timing concepts in front of audiences who might otherwise have encountered them only through wrestling or BJJ-centric instruction.

Few coaches in the grappling world have been forced to rethink technique as thoroughly as Flores. As shared on a BJJ Fanatics Podcast appearance in October 2025, he has undergone approximately 18 knee surgeries — including six ACL reconstructions — leaving him without functioning ACLs or PCLs. Severe arthritis and minimal cartilage compound the damage in his right knee, and a bone growth that developed between roughly 2015 and 2025 further restricted mobility until its surgical removal around 2023. Three herniated discs in his neck add another layer of complexity, limiting head movement and producing numbness and stingers during physical activity.

Building a Technical Model Around Limitation

Rather than stepping away from the mat, Flores restructured his technical approach around these physical realities. He deliberately avoids the head-to-head pressure and force-on-force driving that define much of wrestling, recognizing that those patterns place unsustainable load on both his knees and cervical spine. In their place, he favors efficient, opportunistic takedowns that capitalize on opponents' overconfidence — entries built on timing and positioning rather than physical dominance.

One signature adaptation is his preference for entering to the legs by passing an elbow to a leg rather than driving through the body on a conventional penetration step. This reduces neck loading and lowers the risk of triggering stingers or aggravating disc irritation. The resulting technical model centers on economy of movement and exploitation of openings — a framework with direct relevance for any grappler managing chronic pain or structural limitations. Despite the accumulation of injuries, Flores continues to teach, demonstrate techniques, and compete, citing fatherhood — he has two children — as a central motivation for staying present and active on the mats.

In November 2024, Flores announced plans to launch a hybrid no-gi judo tournament under the name the JFLO Invitational. The concept fits within a broader trend of judo-influenced rulesets making inroads into the no-gi grappling space, where organizers have increasingly explored formats that reward stand-up throwing proficiency alongside ground work.

For Flores, a tournament of this kind represents a natural extension of his coaching identity — an attempt to build a competitive structure that honors Olympic judo traditions while engaging the no-gi grappling audience that has grown substantially through submission wrestling and BJJ-adjacent events. A successful launch would position him not only as a coach and instructor but as a promoter with a distinct vision for where judo and no-gi grappling converge. For the BJJ and submission grappling communities, the JFLO Invitational stands as a compelling example of how judo-derived competitive formats continue to expand into spaces once dominated by wrestling and BJJ rulesets.