Nisar Loynab

Nisar Loynab was born on March 31, 1993, in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, where he spent the first sixteen years of his life. Growing up, he immersed himself in a variety of sports — football (soccer), American football, and basketball — with the latter becoming his standout discipline. His father, a devoted basketball enthusiast, served as his primary inspiration and helped instill the competitive mindset that would later prove invaluable on the mats.

Loynab's first encounter with martial arts came at age 8, when he briefly trained karate, though he never progressed past the white belt. His interest in the discipline resurfaced during his mid-teens, and his parents responded by enrolling him in a local jiu-jitsu school — a decision that would define the course of his athletic career. His first BJJ instructor was purple belt Jeremy Lafreniere, who laid the technical groundwork and ignited his passion for grappling. Loynab then spent six months refining his fundamentals under black belt Tony Passos before making the pivotal move to San Diego.

In 2009, Loynab relocated to San Diego as a juvenile blue belt to train under Saulo Ribeiro and Alexandre Ribeiro at the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association. The environment proved transformative. Under their mentorship, he steadily advanced through the belt ranks, committing to full-time athletic training upon earning his purple belt at age 18. His dedication translated directly to competition results, where he earned podium finishes at major IBJJF juvenile events in 2010 — a silver medal at the IBJJF Pan Championship Juvenile and a bronze at the IBJJF World Championship Juvenile.

Loynab later transitioned to the headquarters of Atos JJ in San Diego, coming under the direct mentorship of André Galvão. Galvão guided him through the final stages of his belt progression, awarding him his brown belt and ultimately his black belt on February 19, 2018. Competing in the medium-heavyweight division — Meio Pesado (88.30 kg / 195.0 lbs) — Loynab established himself as one of the elite competitors of his generation in that weight class, building his reputation through consistent performances across both gi and no-gi formats.

Following his black belt promotion in 2018, Loynab built an impressive record on the IBJJF open tournament circuit under the Atos JJ banner. The year 2019 proved particularly productive, as he claimed gold at the IBJJF San Diego Spring Open, the IBJJF Las Vegas Summer Open, and the IBJJF Portland Open — the last of which also yielded a silver medal, reflecting both the depth of his competition schedule and the caliber of opposition he faced throughout that stretch.

His colored-belt career had already demonstrated the same competitive consistency. Beyond his 2010 juvenile podium results, Loynab earned a bronze medal at the IBJJF World Championship NoGi in 2014 as a brown belt, followed by a brown-belt bronze at the IBJJF Pan Championship in 2015. A purple-belt bronze at the Pan Championship in 2013 further underscored a record that spans multiple belt levels, weight categories, and ruleset formats — cementing his standing as a well-rounded and enduring force in high-level grappling competition.