Nia Blackman's Profile

Nia Blackman was born in June 2004 in London, England, raised in the Southwest of the capital. Sport was a constant presence from childhood, and she found her way to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of eight in 2012, beginning her training under Felipe Souza at the BJJ School in Battersea. That foundational tuition later passed to Anthony Chahal, who continued to guide her development at the same academy, building on the technical groundwork already laid.

Family proved central to Nia's early journey. With strong support from her parents, George and Sherise Blackman, she threw herself into national competition before stepping up to international events. Her enthusiasm for the sport proved contagious — her younger brother and sister eventually joined her on the tournament circuit, transforming BJJ into a shared family pursuit. Those formative competitive experiences laid the groundwork for what would become one of the most decorated careers in British jiu-jitsu.

A defining moment in Nia Blackman's development came at orange belt, when she made the deliberate decision to pursue a serious competitive career and sought a training environment capable of matching her ambitions. In 2018, she found that environment at Fightzone in East London, joining under coach Marco Canha, who ran one of the most competitive programs in the United Kingdom.

The move proved transformative. Progressing through purple and brown belt, Nia accumulated an impressive collection of international titles. At purple belt, she claimed gold at the IBJJF European Championship and European Championship NOGI in 2022, swept both the IBJJF Pan Championship and Pan Championship NOGI that same year, and captured gold at the AJP Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in London in 2022. At brown belt, she continued her ascent with victories at the IBJJF European Championship NOGI in 2023, the IBJJF South American Championship NOGI in 2023, and multiple podium finishes at the IBJJF Pan and World Championships across 2023 and 2024.

Her juvenile career had already hinted at the trajectory to come. Nia won back-to-back IBJJF European Championship titles in 2020 and 2021, claimed the IBJJF World Championship as a juvenile in 2021, and secured multiple IBJJF Pan Kids Championship titles dating back to 2017, alongside gold at the AJP Abu Dhabi Youth World Championship in 2018. On June 17, 2024, Marco Canha awarded Nia her black belt — a milestone earned through years of sustained and exceptional performance on the international stage.

Nia Blackman wasted little time establishing herself at the black belt level following her promotion in June 2024. One of her most significant early achievements came with a gold medal at the ADCC Europe & Asia Trials in 2024, a result that announced her arrival on the no-gi elite circuit and positioned her as a serious contender for a future ADCC World Championship berth. In the gi, she reached the podium at the IBJJF World Championship in 2024, claiming a third-place finish that confirmed her standing among the sport's best.

Her trajectory continued into 2025, with a third-place finish at the IBJJF Pan Championship and a gold medal at the AJP Grand Slam in Romania — a result that demonstrated her continued growth and consistency on the international AJP circuit. In 2023, she had finished runner-up at the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro, and she added a second-place finish at the IBJJF European Championship NOGI in 2024 to her black belt record. Competing in the Meio-Pesado division at 74 kg (163 lbs), Nia has built a reputation across both gi and no-gi formats as one of the most complete grapplers of her generation in Europe.

In the latter part of 2024, Nia Blackman became a representative of the Royal Jiu-Jitsu Academy, a Birmingham-based program led by Bradley Hill and Samantha Cook, the latter a former teammate of Nia's from her years at Fightzone. The move opened a new chapter in her career while preserving the competitive spirit and connections that have defined her journey.

With a black belt, an ADCC Trials title, and a growing list of international podium finishes to her name, Nia Blackman stands as one of the foremost grappling talents to emerge from the United Kingdom — a complete competitor across both gi and no-gi, with the foundations firmly in place for a long and compelling career at the elite level.