Skip to content
The BJJ Story
Search
Back to people
Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
Portrait unavailable. General BJJ illustration; not a likeness of this person.Illustration: The BJJ Story

Jean-Paul Labonté

Jean-Paul Labonté described a training community built on mentors, commitment and mutual improvement.

Biography

Jean-Paul Labonté attributed his development to the people he trained with. Speaking to Seychelles Nation in January 2016 after receiving his association’s male MMA award for 2015, he credited mentors across boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA. Regular practice mattered, but so did the way partners worked together. Their small group had become a family, he explained: people put ego aside to help each other improve their technique, treating progress as something shared rather than a contest among teammates. In Mauritius later that year, he submitted Moussa Dilmahamod in the Ultimate Submission Tournament’s white-belt 85kg category. That August, a contributed report described his national heavyweight final against Larry William. Labonté won with an Ezekiel choke in no-gi grappling, without the jacket. A separate vote by athletes and officials named him the championship’s best fighter.

Sources for this profile

  • Seychelles Nation, 1 June 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • Nation reported Labonté defeating Moussa Dilmahamod by submission in Mauritius’s 2016 Ultimate Submission Tournament, in the white-belt 85kg category.

      Where in the source: Opening athlete report.

      Accessed:

  • Seychelles Nation, 14 January 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • Receiving his association’s 2015 male MMA award, Labonté credited boxing, BJJ and MMA mentors and regular practice. He described a small group becoming family: partners setting ego aside to improve one another’s skills, with collective progress taking priority over individual rivalry.

      Where in the source: Labonté’s training reflection.

      Accessed:

  • Seychelles Nation, 31 August 2016.(opens in a new tab)

    • Nation’s contributed August 2016 report describes Labonté winning the heavyweight grappling final against Larry William with an Ezekiel choke without the gi. Athletes and officials also voted him best fighter.

      Where in the source: Heavyweight outcome and award.

      Accessed:

Lineage

No teaching connections are shown on this page.

Open lineage