Ryan Christopher Aitken was born on October 12, 1993, in Marietta, Georgia, and grew up in the neighboring Cobb County area. Before martial arts entered his life, he spent his middle school years playing lacrosse, with no clear trajectory toward combat sports. That changed in his mid-teens when bullying became a defining challenge — one that pushed him toward self-defense as a practical, personal solution.

Two specific influences ignited his interest in fighting: the film Never Back Down and the striking power of K1/MMA fighter Mirko Cro Cop Filipović, whose competitive intensity left a lasting impression. Motivated by those examples, Aitken joined a local MMA club with the goal of learning kickboxing. The gym owner, however, encouraged him to train Jiu-Jitsu alongside striking — a suggestion that would reshape the entire arc of his athletic life. At 15 years old, Aitken stepped onto the mats for the first time under Eddie Camden, and his passion for grappling quickly eclipsed his original interest in striking.

Following high school, Aitken committed to mixed martial arts, relocating his training to the Striker Fight Center under coaches Omar Lira and Juan Guevara. The pair guided his development as a competitor and promoted him to purple belt during that period. He went on to compete in four professional cage fights, with his run culminating in a title match in the Conflict Promotion out of South Carolina — a loss that prompted a meaningful reassessment of his competitive direction.

Rather than stepping away from competition, Aitken redirected his energy toward the IBJJF gi circuit, joining Leo Nogueira's Alliance Atlanta gym. Training within the Alliance system sharpened his technical foundation and introduced him to international-level competition. He made a strong impression on the colored belt circuit as a brown belt, taking gold at the IBJJF Miami Winter Open in 2019 and following that with a first-place finish at the IBJJF New Orleans Open in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global tournament calendar and shifted Aitken's competitive focus in a lasting way. As no-gi events resumed more quickly than their gi counterparts, he gravitated toward submission grappling and the no-gi format. To pursue that path seriously, he sought out Sean Applegate's 10th Planet Atlanta academy — a gym built around Eddie Bravo's unorthodox, no-gi-first system.

Aitken arrived at 10th Planet as a brown belt, carrying years of gi competition and MMA experience with him. Over three years immersed in the 10th Planet methodology, he refined his game under Applegate's guidance and earned his black belt from Applegate on December 18, 2022. That milestone marked both his mastery within the system and the full commitment of his competitive identity to no-gi grappling.

ADCC Open Circuit

With his black belt secured and his focus fixed on submission grappling, Aitken built a strong record across some of the most prominent no-gi and submission-only events in the sport. In 2023, he collected back-to-back ADCC Open gold medals, winning the ADCC Chicago Open and the ADCC Arizona Open before taking silver at the ADCC Denver Open later that year. Those results demonstrated consistent performance at the regional elite level and reinforced his standing as a legitimate threat in the 88 kg division. Aitken has also competed at the ADCC World Championship, the sport's most prestigious no-gi event, cementing his presence on the professional grappling circuit.

Combat Jiu-Jitsu Titles

Aitken's Combat Jiu-Jitsu résumé stands as one of the defining chapters of his career. He won the CJJ Worlds Middleweight Championship, becoming the first competitor from the 10th Planet organization to claim that title — a distinction that drew attention to both his individual performance and the system's viability in the hybrid grappling-striking format. He also won the EBI Combat Jiu-Jitsu Tournament at 185 lbs in 2023, adding another significant CJJ result to his record.

EBI and Submission-Only Platforms

In 2024, Aitken reached the top of one of submission grappling's most recognized platforms, winning gold at Eddie Bravo Invitational 21. Beyond that headline result, he claimed the PGF World Season 7 Championship, the Main Character Invitational at 185 lbs in 2023, and the Submission Only Series VIII title in 2022 — a range of results that reflects both his competitive activity and his effectiveness across varied no-gi formats.

A Multi-Layered Competitive Identity

Aitken's competitive identity is shaped by three distinct backgrounds: the technical gi training he absorbed through the Alliance system, the pressure-tested experience of four professional MMA bouts, and the unorthodox positional framework of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. The result is a grappler who brings genuine physicality and composure under pressure — attributes that many pure sport practitioners lack — combined with unconventional positional tools that make him difficult to prepare for.

The 10th Planet Framework

10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, the system founded by Eddie Bravo, is built around no-gi-specific positions — rubber guard, leg entanglements, body triangles, and unconventional control sequences that diverge sharply from traditional gi-based Jiu-Jitsu. These tools are particularly well-suited to the submission-only and ADCC rulesets where Aitken competes most frequently, environments that reward positional creativity and leg lock proficiency over points accumulation.

Combat Jiu-Jitsu as a Natural Fit

The Combat Jiu-Jitsu ruleset adds a dimension that plays directly to Aitken's history. CJJ permits open-palm strikes from guard, rewarding grapplers with genuine combat sports conditioning and comfort in dangerous positions — attributes Aitken developed during his MMA years. His sustained success across CJJ, ADCC Opens, EBI, and PGF events illustrates a competitive versatility that reflects both the depth of his training history and the breadth of the 10th Planet system he represents.