Philippe Pomaski

Philippe Pomaski grew up in Basel, Switzerland, cycling through football (soccer) and basketball without finding a pursuit that truly ignited his competitive drive. That restlessness drew him toward martial arts at 12, when he began kung fu classes — an experience cut short by the absence of live sparring or meaningful technique testing.

At 15, Pomaski gravitated toward muay Thai, a discipline whose emphasis on live sparring and competition immediately resonated with him. His ambitions in the ring were stalled by Swiss regulations requiring written parental consent for minors to compete, which his parents declined to provide.

The competitive itch found a new outlet through mixed martial arts, particularly the Japanese promotion Pride FC. Pomaski's attention gravitated not toward the strikers but toward the grapplers — fighters like Ricardo Arona, Rodrigo Minotauro, and members of the Gracie family whose ground mastery seemed almost otherworldly. A close friend with some grappling knowledge reinforced the pull, introducing Philippe to a handful of submissions and encouraging him to seek formal instruction. At nearly 18, Pomaski walked through the doors of BJJ Team Basel and began training under coach Claude Jäger.

Blue Belt — Basel and Miami

Under Claude Jäger's guidance at BJJ Team Basel, Pomaski built the foundational grappling literacy that would underpin his later success. His fascination with the art deepened rapidly, and by 2012 — at 21 years old and holding a blue belt — he made a decisive move, relocating to Miami, Florida, to train under Roberto Abreu at Fight Sports.

The gamble paid off immediately. Pomaski captured gold at the NoGi World Championship as a blue belt in 2012, a performance that demonstrated he was operating well above his rank. Roberto Abreu recognized his development and awarded Philippe the purple belt directly as a result of that title.

Purple Belt — Santos, Brazil

In early 2013, Pomaski pushed further into the BJJ heartland, relocating to Santos — a coastal city in São Paulo state, Brazil — to train under Rodrigo Cavaca at a Checkmat affiliate. There, he forged two of the most consequential relationships of his career, befriending Gabriel Rollo (known as Palito) and Thiago Abreu (known as Baiano), both Cavaca students who operated their own Checkmat affiliate called The House in Santos. Pomaski became a regular presence at The House, and when Cavaca departed the Checkmat organization later that year, Philippe made the deliberate choice to remain with Checkmat, continuing his development under Rollo and Abreu.

The two years Pomaski spent in Santos transformed him into one of the most respected purple belts on the global circuit.

Brown and Black Belt — California

To continue his ascent, Pomaski relocated to California to train at Checkmat headquarters under master Leo Vieira. Vieira oversaw the final stages of Pomaski's belt journey, promoting him first to brown belt and then, on June 5, 2018, to black belt — a ceremony conducted in the presence of his two other primary coaches, Gabriel Rollo and Thiago Abreu.

Blue Belt Breakthrough

Pomaski's competitive trajectory began emphatically in 2012, when his NoGi World Championship title as a blue belt announced his arrival on the international stage and directly earned him the purple belt from Roberto Abreu. A bronze medal at the IBJJF Pan Championship that same year further signaled his potential.

Purple Belt — Global Consistency

As a purple belt, Pomaski's competition calendar spanned Brazil and the United States with remarkable results. He claimed gold at the FPJJ São Paulo State Championship in 2013, demonstrating his ability to compete in Brazil's demanding domestic scene. By 2015, he was performing at the sport's elite colored belt level — winning both the UAEJJF Grand Slam LA and the FPJJ Campeonato Internacional São Paulo, while finishing runner-up at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro and the IBJJF European Open. It was during this period that BJJ Heroes identified him as one of Europe's rising stars, a recognition that reflected a résumé built across three continents.

Brown Belt — Podiums and Prestige

The brown belt division proved equally productive. Pomaski claimed the IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi title in 2016 — one of the sport's most prestigious no-gi events — alongside victories at the IBJJF Atlanta Pro (2016), UAEJJF Las Vegas Pro (2016), and IBJJF San Diego Pro (2017). His multiple podium finishes at the ACBJJ World Championship as a brown belt in 2017 further confirmed his sustained technical and competitive development.

One of the defining threads running through his colored belt career was his consistency at the IBJJF Pan Championship — reaching the podium at three consecutive belt levels: bronze as a blue belt in 2012, bronze as a purple belt in 2015, and bronze again as a brown belt in 2016. Few competitors can claim that degree of cross-rank consistency at one of the sport's most competitive events.

2018 — A Strong Entry

Pomaski's black belt career centered on Europe, where he established himself as one of the continent's premier competitors in his weight division. He wasted little time making an impact in 2018, sweeping the IBJJF Geneva Open and IBJJF Geneva Open NoGi doubles — a result that underscored his versatility across both gi and no-gi formats. A gold medal at the IBJJF Madrid Open and a bronze at the ACBJJ World Championship that same year added further weight to his early black belt credentials.

2019 — Peak Performance

The 2019 season represented the apex of his black belt competitive record to that point. Pomaski captured the IBJJF European Open NoGi title — the most prestigious black belt result of his career — and followed it with gold at the IBJJF Munich Open and the UAEJJF Switzerland National Pro. He also reached the final of the UAEJJF Grand Slam Moscow in 2019, falling just short of the top position but affirming his standing among Europe's elite at the black belt level.

Life Beyond Competition

Beyond the competition mats, Pomaski made a significant personal decision in 2018, returning to his hometown of Basel to enroll in political science at the local university. The choice reflected a deliberate effort to balance the demands of high-level sport with broader intellectual and personal development — a dual pursuit that speaks to the character he has cultivated since those early days watching Pride FC from Switzerland.