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Elisabeth Clay

Elisabeth Clay began at a small MMA gym in Soldotna, Alaska, and rose to black-belt no-gi world titles and a 2025 heel-hook win over Gabrieli Pessanha.

Biography

Elisabeth Clay is an American grappler who took up jiu-jitsu around the age of 12 in a small mixed martial arts club in Soldotna, Alaska, and went on to become a black-belt world champion in no-gi, the form of the sport contested without the traditional jacket. She was born in 2000 and grew up in Alaska. Gymnastics came first. Clay has described herself as a child who was not a natural athlete, and in a 2020 interview with BJJ Heroes she recalled doing gymnastics from early childhood with the Olympics as her dream. She quit at 11, by then living in Alaska, where the local gym could not give her enough time in training. The club in Soldotna was Redemption Mixed Martial Arts, where she tried Muay Thai as well as jiu-jitsu before settling on grappling. She decided in her very first jiu-jitsu class, she has said, that she would take the sport as far as it could go. By May 2016, when the Anchorage Daily News profiled her, she was a 15-year-old blue belt who by the paper's account trained up to eight hours a day and had put in more than 3,000 hours on the mats since 2012. Her coach at the time, George Grossman, told the paper she trained like a professional athlete. The month before, she had earned her adult blue belt at Anchorage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in a test that finished with what the paper called a shark tank, six-minute rounds against one fresh opponent after another. That year she also won juvenile blue-belt gold at the Pan Championship and at the World Championship. She told the paper she wanted to do jiu-jitsu professionally for the rest of her life, with a black belt and a world title among her goals: "Jiu-jitsu is my life." Looking back in 2024, she said that as a kid in adult classes she had been handled harder than others, on the reasoning that if she wanted to be there she had to keep up. She believes it helped shape her as an athlete, though she also thinks it was a little too much. Four years into the sport she left Soldotna for Anchorage and Legacy Jiu-Jitsu, Jordan Kontra's Ares-affiliated academy, where the room was bigger. In 2017, at 16 and still a blue belt, she won the ADCC West Coast trial and with it a place at the ADCC World Championship, defeating black belts along the way. She went in hoping at most for a podium finish, she has said. An injury kept her out of the world championship that year, and in 2025 she still called missing it a "sore spot", though she would not change the path her career took. The attention passed quickly. People talked about the trial win, she told Jiujiteira Magazine in 2022, but within a week it was no longer a big deal, and the two used the story to make a point about not carrying wins or losses too heavily. Competing for Ares in 2018, she won the blue-belt medium-heavyweight and open-class titles at the Pan Championship. At the World Championship she took bronze in her weight class, then won the blue-belt open class over four opponents, and Graciemag reported that she was promoted to purple belt there. Around the middle of that year she relocated to Modesto, California, home of the Ares headquarters, to train with Osvaldo Moizinho and Samir Chantre, and later in 2018 she won the purple-belt medium-heavyweight and open divisions at the No-Gi World Championship. She returned to Alaska early in 2019 but kept traveling back to the Ares base. Now a brown belt, she won her weight class and the open class at the 2019 No-Gi World Championship. In 2020 she named that all-submission run, together with the 2017 ADCC trial, as her biggest achievements, with ADCC and black-belt world titles as the goals ahead. When competition shut down in 2020 she moved from Alaska to Texas, where, as she tells it, Fight to Win was one of the few events still running. She competed on its cards and trained at an Ares gym in Dallas. On the Fight 2 Win 143 card, still a brown belt, she beat Kendall Reusing, a competitor who usually fights two classes heavier and who was then the reigning IBJJF no-gi world champion both in the super-heavyweight class and in the absolute. At Fight 2 Win 147, also in 2020, she finished Luiza Monteiro with an outside heel hook. FloGrappling put her record against black belts that year at four wins and one loss, three of the wins by submission. In November 2020 Moizinho and Chantre awarded her the black belt, at 20, and in January 2021 FloGrappling named her its Female Grappler of the Year for 2020. Her first year at black belt brought silver in the gi at both the Pan Championship and the World Championship, each time at medium-heavyweight behind Ana Carolina Vieira Srour. At the 2021 No-Gi World Championship, within a year of receiving the black belt, she won the medium-heavyweight title, finishing the final with a guillotine choke. It was her first world title at black belt; in the open class she was second to Rafaela Guedes. In an essay for Zebra Athletics afterward she wrote that this title was different from those she had won in colored belts because she no longer had to say which belt it came at, and that she had worked toward it through her childhood and teenage years. The open-class silver she called a letdown. The part of her that chases perfection rather than simply winning would always be a little disappointed, she wrote, but she was learning to appreciate what had gone well and work on the rest. She thanked Moizinho and Chantre and described jiu-jitsu as her job, whether competing, which she meant to keep doing for many years, or coaching, teaching and giving seminars. She won both her weight class and the open class at the Pan No-Gi Championship in 2021 and again in 2022, with every win coming by submission in both years; in the 2021 open class, Kendall Reusing was the runner-up. During 2022 she also moved down from medium-heavyweight to middleweight. She has said the move was not planned. She had lost weight, made the middleweight limit at that year's Brazilian Nationals while entered at medium-heavy, took silver there, and decided afterward to drop down. She kept entering the open class at major tournaments, although lighter than most of the field there, because she liked the extra challenge and had always done it. She was not among ADCC's original invitees for its 2022 World Championship. She tried the North American trial and lost in the semifinal to Amy Campo, who went on to win it. In August she was named as the replacement for Carina Santi, and in her ADCC debut she lost to Campo on points. At the No-Gi World Championship that December she won middleweight and the open class, with Campo second in the open. At Polaris 23 in March 2023 she won the women's under-66-kilogram grand prix in one night: she submitted Joanna Dineva with a reverse triangle and Ffion Davies with a toehold in under three minutes, then beat Campo 1-0 on points in the final. Jits Magazine pointed out that she had beaten both reigning ADCC world champions that night. In October 2023 she won the vacant WNO women's featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Brianna Ste-Marie at Who's Number One 20, and in December, at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5, she caught Luiza Monteiro in a heel hook again. In the gi, 2023 brought middleweight gold at the Pan Championship, which she counts as her first gi major at black belt. She then stepped away from competition to have a child. During the break she kept teaching seminars and working with sponsors. Her return came at the No-Gi Pan Championship in November 2024, where she entered at heavyweight so that she would not have to cut weight for her first competition back, and won both heavyweight and the open class. For the No-Gi World Championship in December she cut to middleweight and won that title as well. Coaching and teaching have run alongside her competing. In 2025 she said she had coached children for about eight years, though she no longer did much of it, and that parents should leave the coaching to the coach. In January 2022 Jiujiteira Magazine wrote about a three-day seminar she taught with Kristian Woodmansee; the main advice it took from her for women who want to compete seriously was to train with men. Her advice to girls starting out, in a 2024 interview, was not to hold back or set themselves apart because they are girls, but to ask whoever they want to train with, men or women. In the same interview she put women's jiu-jitsu five to ten years behind the men's, mostly in how deep each division is, and expected the gap to close as talented lower belts reach black belt. A good room, as she described it in 2025, is one where people with the same goals train hard; young and new athletes need a good coach to build a foundation, while at black belt good training partners matter more than the head instructor. By early 2025 she had also launched a Patreon page with technique instruction. In February 2025 she named the gi world title as the big goal still ahead and pushed back on the idea that she only competes in no-gi. In March, Brianna Ste-Marie submitted her at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10, and in April Helena Crevar took the WNO featherweight title from her with a rear-naked choke at Who's Number One 27. In the gi she won middleweight at the Brazilian Nationals and took silver at the World Championship behind Thalyta Silva, with bronze in the open class. IBJJF results still had her with Ares BJJ at that World Championship; by the No-Gi World Championship in December she was entered for Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu, and the federation's athlete page now lists her with Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Fort Worth – Team Marra. At that No-Gi World Championship she won both middleweight and the open class, finishing all eight of her matches by submission. She beat Rebeca Lima with an outside heel hook in the middleweight final. On the way to the open final she submitted Adele Fornarino, the reigning double champion from ADCC 2024, with a guillotine. The final put her against Gabrieli Pessanha, the double gold medalist of 2024. A first outside heel hook was halted when they reached the edge of the competition area; Clay was ahead 4-0 on points for a sweep and the heel-hook attack when another outside heel hook ended the match. Jits Magazine reported that the win made her the first woman to submit Pessanha at black belt, and that Pessanha had submitted Clay in both of their earlier meetings, which were in the gi, with Clay giving away a lot of weight to the super-heavyweight Pessanha. IBJJF's recap put the open-class win down to her leg-lock attack, which it called a world-class system. In BJJ Heroes' record of her matches, leg locks are her most frequent finishes: toe holds, heel hooks and straight ankle locks. In 2020 her favorites, as she listed them for BjjTribes, had been closed guard, the smash pass, and guillotines, omoplatas and Estima locks. In 2026, competing for Six Blades, she took middleweight silver behind Lillian Marchand at the Pan Championship, with bronze in the open class, won the gi Brazilian Nationals with Marchand second, and in June won middleweight and the absolute at the No-Gi Brazilian Nationals. At the World Championship in the gi she again finished second at middleweight, with Marchand taking gold.

Sources for this profile

  • Wikipedia, 'Elisabeth Clay' (page last edited 6 December 2025).(opens in a new tab)

    • Wikipedia gives Clay's birth year as 2000.

      Where in the source: Lead sentence — '(born 2000)'

      Accessed:

    • Wikipedia describes Clay as an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor.

      Where in the source: Lead sentence — 'is an American submission grappler'

      Accessed:

    • As a child Clay lived in Oklahoma and then Alaska.

      Where in the source: Section 'Early life', first paragraph, second sentence

      Accessed:

    • At the 2022 ADCC World Championship, where she replaced Carina Santi, Clay lost on points to Amy Campo.

      Where in the source: Section 'Black belt career', 2020-2022, third paragraph — 'replacing Carina Santi'

      Accessed:

    • Clay took time away from competition to have a child and returned at the IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship in November 2024.

      Where in the source: Section '2024-2025', first paragraph

      Accessed:

    • In March 2025 Clay lost by submission to Brianna Ste-Marie at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10.

      Where in the source: Section '2024-2025', third paragraph

      Accessed:

    • In January 2021 FloGrappling named Clay its 2020 Female Grappler of the Year.

      Where in the source: Section 'Black belt career', 2020-2022, first paragraph

      Accessed:

  • Anchorage Daily News, Stephan Wiebe, 'Soldotna jiu-jitsu champ is just 15 but she's got a choke-hold on her sport', May 8, 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • Clay began taking classes at Redemption Mixed Martial Arts in Soldotna, Alaska, at age 12, after leaving gymnastics, and said she fell in love with jiu-jitsu there.

      Where in the source: Paragraphs after the first advertisement — 'when she was 12'

      Accessed:

    • In May 2016 the Anchorage Daily News reported that Clay, then 15 and a blue belt, trained up to eight hours a day and had logged more than 3,000 training hours since starting in 2012.

      Where in the source: Fourth paragraph — 'eight hours a day'

      Accessed:

    • Her coach at the time, George Grossman, told the newspaper she was very driven and trained like a professional athlete.

      Where in the source: Quote from coach Grossman — 'like a professional athlete'

      Accessed:

    • In April 2016 Clay tested for her adult blue belt at Anchorage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; the final part was a 'shark tank' of six-minute rounds against a succession of fresh opponents.

      Where in the source: Paragraphs on the promotion test — 'shark tank'

      Accessed:

    • The newspaper reported that two weeks before that promotion Clay won two blue-belt gold medals at the 2016 Pan Championship in Irvine, California, in the juvenile heavyweight class and in the open division.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the Pan Ams — 'juvenile heavyweight class'

      Accessed:

    • At 15 Clay told the newspaper that she wanted to do jiu-jitsu professionally for the rest of her life and that one goal was to reach black belt and become a world champion.

      Where in the source: Closing quotes — 'Jiu-jitsu is my life.'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF News, 'Elisabeth Clay Discusses Pursuit of 2nd Black Belt Worlds No-Gi Title' (published ahead of the 8–11 December 2022 No-Gi Worlds).(opens in a new tab)

    • After double gold at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship at purple and at brown belt, Clay was promoted to black belt by Osvaldo 'Queixinho' Moizinho and Samir Chantre in late 2020.

      Where in the source: First paragraph — 'promoted to black belt'

      Accessed:

    • At the 2021 No-Gi World Championship, less than a year after her promotion, Clay won her first black-belt world title and finished her opponent in the final with a guillotine choke.

      Where in the source: First paragraph — 'guillotine choke'

      Accessed:

    • At the October 2022 Pan No-Gi Championship Clay won gold with every win by submission, for the second year in a row.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph — 'with all submissions'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said her 2022 move from medium-heavyweight down to middleweight was not a plan: she had lost weight, had weighed in at middleweight while entered at medium-heavy at that year's Brazilian Nationals, and then decided to move down.

      Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, Clay's quote — 'walking around at middleweight'

      Accessed:

    • Although lighter than most open-class opponents, Clay said she regularly enters the absolute division at major tournaments because she likes the extra challenge and has always done it.

      Where in the source: Fifth paragraph, Clay's quote — 'I like the extra challenge'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF News, Kaelan Crisosto, '2025 No-Gi Worlds | Black Belt Day 2 Recap', December 14, 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2025 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won both the middleweight and the open-class titles, finishing all eight of her matches by submission.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on Clay under 'Female Divisions' — 'across eight total matches'

      Accessed:

    • Clay won the 2025 No-Gi Worlds middleweight final against Rebeca Lima with an outside heel hook.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph — 'outside heel hook'

      Accessed:

    • In the 2025 No-Gi Worlds open-class final Clay met Gabi Pessanha, the 2024 double gold medalist; a first outside heel hook was stopped when they reached the edge of the competition area, and Clay then finished with another outside heel hook.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph — 'halted by the boundaries'

      Accessed:

    • The IBJJF recap credited Clay's 2025 open-class win to her leg-lock attack, which it called a world-class system, and identified her as a Six Blades athlete.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph — 'leg lock system'; 'Six Blades athlete'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2016 IBJJF World Championship Clay won the female juvenile 1 blue-belt heavyweight division, representing Anchorage Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and took second behind Gabrieli Pessanha in the juvenile 1 blue-belt heavy open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Juvenile 1 / Blue / Heavy (147.00lb)', place 1, and 'Female / Juvenile 1 / Blue / Open Class Heavy', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2017 IBJJF World Championship Clay won the female juvenile 2 blue-belt heavyweight division, now listed under Ares BJJ; IBJJF registers her as Elisabeth Ann Clay.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Juvenile 2 / Blue / Heavy (152.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2018 IBJJF Pan Championship Clay won both the female adult blue-belt medium-heavyweight division and the blue-belt open class, for Ares BJJ.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy (163.60lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2018 IBJJF World Championship Clay took bronze in the female adult blue-belt medium-heavyweight division and won the blue-belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy (163.60lb)', place 3, and 'Female / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2018 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won both the female adult purple-belt medium-heavyweight division and the purple-belt open class, listed as Ares BJJ Alaska.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Purple / Medium Heavy (158.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Purple / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2019 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won both the female adult brown-belt medium-heavyweight division and the brown-belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Brown / Medium Heavy (158.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Brown / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2021 IBJJF Pan Championship (gi) Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt medium-heavyweight division behind Ana Carolina Vieira Srour.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy (163.60lb)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2021 IBJJF World Championship (gi), her first as a black belt, Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt medium-heavyweight division behind Ana Carolina Vieira Srour.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy (163.60lb)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2021 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship Clay won both the female adult black-belt medium-heavyweight division and the black-belt open class; Kendall Reusing was second in the open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy (158.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2021 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won the female adult black-belt medium-heavyweight division and was second in the black-belt open class behind Rafaela Guedes.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy (158.00lb)', place 1, and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship Clay won both the female adult black-belt middleweight division and the black-belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (147.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won both the female adult black-belt middleweight division and the black-belt open class; Amy Campo was second in the open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (147.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2023 IBJJF Pan Championship (gi) Clay won the female adult black-belt middleweight division.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (152.60lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, European Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2023 IBJJF European Championship Clay took bronze in the female adult black-belt middleweight division.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (69.00kg)', place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2024 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship, her return to competition, Clay won both the female adult black-belt heavyweight division and the black-belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Heavy (169.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won the female adult black-belt middleweight division.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (147.00lb)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2025 Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian National Championship, gi) Clay won the female adult black-belt middleweight division for Ares BJJ.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (69.00kg)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2025 IBJJF World Championship (gi) Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt middleweight division behind Thalyta Silva and bronze in the black-belt open class, still listed under Ares BJJ.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (152.60lb)', place 2, and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2025 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Clay won both the female adult black-belt middleweight division and the black-belt open class, now listed under Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (147.00lb)' and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 1 in each

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2026 IBJJF Pan Championship (gi) Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt middleweight division behind Lillian Marchand and bronze in the black-belt open class, for Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Results tables 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (152.60lb)', place 2, and 'Female / Adult / Black / Open Class', place 3

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, athlete page 'Elisabeth Clay' (read 5 October 2026).(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's athlete page lists Elisabeth Clay as a black belt with Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Fort Worth – Team Marra.

      Where in the source: Athlete header under 'ATHLETE RESULTS' — 'Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Fort Worth - Team Marra'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2026 Campeonato Brasileiro (gi) Clay won the female adult black-belt middleweight division for Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu, with Lillian Marchand second.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (69.00kg)', place 1

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2026 IBJJF World Championship (gi) Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt middleweight division behind Lillian Marchand, for Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Middle (152.60lb)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, official results, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 Campeonato Brasileiro (gi) Clay took silver in the female adult black-belt medium-heavyweight division.

      Where in the source: Results table 'Female / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy (74.00kg)', place 2

      Accessed:

  • The Submission Artist (Substack), Erica Zendell, 'Interview: Elisabeth Clay is just warming up', February 14, 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • Interviewer Erica Zendell writes that she first heard of Clay when Clay won the 2017 ADCC West Coast Trials at 16; Clay recalled entering that event hoping at best to reach the podium.

      Where in the source: Section on the 2017 ADCC West Coast Trials, first exchange — 'make the podium'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said an injury kept her from competing at the 2017 ADCC World Championship after the trials, and that missing it remains a sore spot, though she would not change her career path.

      Where in the source: Same section, Clay's answer — 'sore spot'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said she was not a naturally athletic child, did gymnastics first, and decided at her first jiu-jitsu class that she would take the sport all the way.

      Where in the source: Section on childhood ambitions — 'take this all the way'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said that when competition shut down in 2020 she left Alaska for Texas, where Fight to Win was one of the few events still running, competed on its cards, and trained at an Ares gym in Dallas.

      Where in the source: Answer on the 2020 move to Texas — 'only competition going on'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said she coached children for about eight years, though she no longer does so much, and that children's parents should leave coaching to the coach.

      Where in the source: Section on parenting and training culture, second answer — 'about eight years'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said she entered heavyweight at the October 2024 No-Gi Pans so she would not have to cut weight in her first competition back, then cut down to middleweight for the December 2024 No-Gi Worlds.

      Where in the source: Answer on preparing for the 2024 No-Gi Pans and Worlds — 'first competition back'

      Accessed:

    • Asked for career highlights, Clay named the 2017 ADCC trials, reaching the gi World final in her first year as a black belt, and winning the Pans, her first gi major as a black belt; she said the gi World title was the big goal still ahead and pushed back on the idea that she only does no-gi.

      Where in the source: Section 'looking backward, looking forward', answers on proudest moments and upcoming events

      Accessed:

    • Clay said that hard training in a room of people with similar goals is valuable, that young or new athletes need a good coach to build a foundation, and that at black belt good training partners matter more than the head instructor.

      Where in the source: Section on what makes a training environment good, last three answers

      Accessed:

    • The interviewer notes that Clay had recently launched a Patreon page with technique instruction.

      Where in the source: Closing notes after the interview

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, 'Who's Number One 20: Night Of Champions Full Results And Review', October 2, 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At Who's Number One 20 on October 1, 2023 Clay beat Brianna Ste-Marie by unanimous decision to win the vacant WNO women's featherweight title.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph and results list — 'Women's Featherweight world champion'

      Accessed:

  • Jiujiteira Magazine, interview by Charlotte McKinley, 'Elisabeth Clay: On Top of the World', April 1, 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • Clay said that as a child training in adult classes she was treated harder than others, on the view that she had to keep up if she was going to be there; she thinks this was part of what made her the athlete she is, and said the old approach was a little too much.

      Where in the source: Q&A, answer on how the sport has changed — 'I was a kid in the adult class'

      Accessed:

    • Clay said women's jiu-jitsu was roughly five to ten years behind the men's, mainly in the depth of each division, and that she expected it to catch up as talented lower belts reach black belt.

      Where in the source: Q&A, first two answers — 'five to 10 years'

      Accessed:

    • Clay's advice to girls starting out was not to hold back or separate themselves because they are girls, but to ask whoever they want to train with, male or female.

      Where in the source: Q&A, answer on advice for girls starting out

      Accessed:

    • While away from competition in 2023–24, Clay kept teaching seminars and working with sponsors.

      Where in the source: Section on the new adventure, paragraph on seminars

      Accessed:

  • Jiujiteira Magazine, Samantha Seff, 'Train with the F***ing Men', January 25, 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • In January 2022 Jiujiteira Magazine described a three-day seminar taught by black belts Kristian Woodmansee and Elisabeth Clay, and an interview with Clay afterwards.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph — '3-day seminar'

      Accessed:

    • Clay's main advice in that interview, as the writer reports it, was for women who want to compete seriously to train with men.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning 'Perhaps the best piece of advice'

      Accessed:

    • Clay told the interviewer that people talked about her ADCC trials win at 16, but within a week it was no longer a big deal, a point the two made about not carrying wins or losses too heavily.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on how no one remembers losses — 'within a week'

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag (Redação Graciemag), '2018 Worlds: ADCC breakout wins blue belt absolute', June 1, 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag reported from the 2018 World Championship that Clay, an Alaska native and Ares blue belt who had qualified for ADCC 2017 at 16 by beating big names in the American trials, took bronze at medium-heavyweight and then beat four opponents to win the blue-belt absolute, receiving her purple belt.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph — 'beat four opponents'

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling, Corey Stockton, 'After A Year Hunting Black Belts, Lis Clay Gets Promoted', November 14, 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • FloGrappling reported on November 14, 2020 that Clay was promoted to black belt after a year in which, as a brown belt, she went 4-1 against black belts with three submission wins.

      Where in the source: Standfirst under the headline — 'went 4-1 against black belts'

      Accessed:

  • BjjTribes, 'BJJ Athletes – Elisabeth Clay Biography Interview', August 12, 2020 (Internet Archive copy of 5 April 2023; original URL now returns 404).(opens in a new tab)

    • In August 2020 BjjTribes described Clay as an Ares BJJ brown belt competing at medium-heavy, and reported that she named the 2017 ADCC trials and her all-submission brown-belt No-Gi Worlds as her biggest achievements, with ADCC and black-belt Worlds titles as her goals.

      Where in the source: Second and fifth paragraphs of the profile

      Accessed:

    • In 2020 Clay named closed guard as her favourite guard, the smash pass as her favourite pass, and guillotines, omoplatas and Estima locks as favourite submissions.

      Where in the source: Third and fourth paragraphs — 'no one lets me play it'

      Accessed:

  • Zebra Athletics blog, Elisabeth Clay, 'Elisabeth Clay Reacts to Winning Her First Black Belt World Title', October 2021 (Internet Archive copy of 21 June 2025; live URL returned an HTTP error).(opens in a new tab)

    • In a first-person piece after the 2021 No-Gi Worlds, Clay wrote that her first black-belt world title was different from her colored-belt titles because she no longer had to name the belt, and that it was a goal she had worked toward through her childhood and teens.

      Where in the source: First paragraph of the essay, signed 'By Elisabeth Clay'

      Accessed:

    • Clay wrote that the open-class silver was a letdown, that the part of her that fights for perfection rather than just winning will always be a little disappointed, and that she was learning to celebrate what went right and fix the rest.

      Where in the source: First paragraph — 'definitely a let down'

      Accessed:

    • Clay wrote that she now felt jiu-jitsu was her job and her world, whether competing, which she planned to do for many more years, or coaching, teaching and giving seminars, and she thanked her professors Osvaldo Queixinho Moizinho and Samir Chantre.

      Where in the source: Section 'When All is Said and Done' — 'the job of jiu jitsu'

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, 'Elisabeth Clay, Alaska's Grappling Phenom', June 17, 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes reported, from a June 2020 interview, that Clay did gymnastics from early childhood with Olympic hopes, and quit at 11 after the move to Alaska because the gym there did not offer enough training hours.

      Where in the source: Paragraphs 4–5, Clay's quote — 'I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes reported that Clay joined a small MMA club in Soldotna, tried Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu before focusing on grappling, and after four years under coach Mason Ryder Spadafore moved to Jordan Kontra's Legacy Jiu-Jitsu in Anchorage, an Ares affiliate, for a bigger training room.

      Where in the source: Paragraphs 6–7 of the interview article

      Accessed:

    • Midway through 2018 Clay moved to the Ares Jiu-Jitsu Team headquarters in Modesto, California, to work with Osvaldo Moizinho and Samir Chantre, but returned to Alaska at the start of 2019 for family reasons.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning 'During her short, yet plentiful career'

      Accessed:

    • At 16, as a blue belt, Clay won the 2017 ADCC US West Coast Trials, beating established black belts on the way.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph of the interview article

      Accessed:

    • By June 2020, at Fight 2 Win 143, Clay, still a brown belt, beat Kendall Reusing, then the IBJJF No-Gi world champion at super-heavyweight and in the open class, who normally competes two weight classes above her.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph of the interview article

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, 'Elisabeth Clay' fighter profile (read 5 October 2026).(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes' biography says Clay's results, especially in no-gi, earned her the black belt from Samir Chantre and Osvaldo Moizinho in November 2020, and that after returning to Alaska in 2019 she kept making regular trips to the Ares base.

      Where in the source: Section 'Elisabeth Clay Biography', last two paragraphs — 'in November 2020'

      Accessed:

    • In BJJ Heroes' record of Clay's matches, the most frequent submission finishes are leg locks: toe holds, straight ankle locks and heel hooks.

      Where in the source: Grappling record panel, submission breakdown — 'TOE HOLD'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes' record lists a 2020 Fight 2 Win 147 win for Clay over Luiza Monteiro by outside heel hook.

      Where in the source: Fight history table, 2020 row for Luiza Monteiro at F2W 147

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, 'Polaris 23 Full Results And Review', March 12, 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At Polaris 23 on March 11, 2023 Clay won the women's under-66 kg grand prix: she submitted Joanna Dineva with a reverse triangle choke, submitted Ffion Davies with a toehold in under three minutes, and beat Amy Campo 1-0 on points in the final; Jits Magazine noted she beat both reigning ADCC world champions that night.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph and results list — 'Decision – Points (1-0)'

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, Kathrine Burne, 'Elisabeth Clay Makes Her ADCC Debut In Place Of Carina Santi', August 20, 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • Clay was not originally invited to ADCC 2022; she tried to qualify at the North American trials but lost in the semi-final to the eventual winner Amy Campo, and in August 2022 she was named as replacement for Carina Santi, who had withdrawn, giving her an ADCC World Championship debut.

      Where in the source: Fourth paragraph and headline — 'In Place Of Carina Santi'

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, 'UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 Full Results And Review', December 11, 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 in December 2023 Clay beat Luiza Monteiro by heel hook.

      Where in the source: Results list — 'Heel Hook'

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, 'Who's Number One 27: Kaynan Duarte vs Nicky Rodriguez Full Results And Highlights', April 19, 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • At Who's Number One 27 on April 18, 2025 Helena Crevar took the WNO featherweight title from Clay by rear-naked choke.

      Where in the source: Results list — 'Rear-naked Choke'

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, Kathrine Burne, 'Elisabeth Clay Becomes First Woman To Submit Gabrieli Pessanha', December 14, 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jits Magazine reported that Clay's open-class final win at the 2025 No-Gi Worlds made her the first woman to submit Gabrieli Pessanha at black belt, and that Pessanha had beaten Clay by submission in both of their earlier gi meetings, in which Clay was at a big weight disadvantage against the super-heavyweight Pessanha.

      Where in the source: First two paragraphs — 'first woman to submit Gabrieli Pessanha'

      Accessed:

    • On the way to the 2025 No-Gi Worlds open-class final Clay also submitted Adele Fornarino, the reigning ADCC 2024 double champion, with a guillotine; in the final she led 4-0 on a sweep and heel-hook points before the finish.

      Where in the source: Third paragraph — 'with a guillotine'

      Accessed:

  • Jits Magazine, 'IBJJF No Gi Brazilian National Championship (Brasileiro) 2026 Full Results And Highlights', June 30, 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the IBJJF No-Gi Brazilian National Championship on June 27–28, 2026 Clay won both the women's middleweight and absolute divisions.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph — 'American star Elisabeth Clay'

      Accessed:

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