Keith McKenzie

Born on June 16, 1979, in Central Scotland, Keith McKenzie relocated to London for work — a move that would prove pivotal to his martial arts journey. Already seasoned in boxing and kickboxing competition, McKenzie stumbled upon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003 when a search for a kickboxing club led him to watch a BJJ class instead. The instructor on the mat that day was Roger Brooking, one of the first BJJ black belts to teach in the United Kingdom. What McKenzie witnessed was enough to redirect his martial arts path entirely, setting him on a course that would define much of his athletic life in London and beyond.

McKenzie's early development unfolded under the direct guidance of Roger Brooking, who awarded him both his blue and purple belts. Driven to deepen his understanding of the art, McKenzie also travelled to Brazil to train under Ricardo Vieira — a decision that reflected his serious commitment to growth on the mats.

When Brooking stepped away from coaching in 2007, McKenzie transitioned to London Fight Factory, where he trained under a formidable group of Brazilian instructors: Rodrigo 'Brucutu' Cabral, Eduardo Azevedo, and Thiago Borges. Borges and Azevedo jointly promoted McKenzie to brown belt in April 2009, recognising his technical and competitive development.

The black belt promotion that followed was rooted in competitive achievement. On February 9, 2011, Marco Canha awarded McKenzie his black belt in a ceremony attended by several BJJ black belts — a promotion directly tied to McKenzie's consecutive victories at the IBJJF European Open in the brown belt division. McKenzie competes and trains as part of Checkmat, one of the leading competitive BJJ organisations in the world.

McKenzie's competitive record stands as a testament to his consistency across multiple divisions and stages of his career. His back-to-back European Open titles in the brown belt master 1 division in 2010 and 2011 were the crowning achievements of his pre-black belt competitive run — and the direct catalyst for his promotion to black belt by Marco Canha. That clear link between competitive excellence and rank advancement speaks to the standards McKenzie held himself to throughout his development.

At black belt, McKenzie continued to perform at the highest domestic and international levels. In 2015, he claimed the British Championship title in the black belt adult division and won the IBJJF London Fall Open at black belt master 1. That same year, he earned runner-up finishes at both the IBJJF British Nationals in the adult division and the IBJJF London Open in the adult division, demonstrating his ability to compete across age categories simultaneously. In 2014, McKenzie placed second at the British Nationals in the black belt master 1 division. His competitive history stretches back further still, with a third-place finish at the Scandinavian Open in 2008 at purple belt adult — evidence of a long and sustained commitment to testing himself on the competition floor. Representing Great Britain throughout his career, McKenzie has built a record spanning nearly a decade of IBJJF and domestic competition.