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John-Olav Einemo

“The Viking”

Source: sherdog.com

John-Olav Einemo's path from Oslo grappling to ADCC gold included wins over Roger Gracie and Alexandre Ferreira, followed by PRIDE and UFC bouts.

Biography

John-Olav Einemo began grappling in Oslo and went on to win an ADCC world championship. Known as "The Viking," he also competed in mixed martial arts (MMA), fighting in PRIDE and the UFC. After his ADCC title, a lengthy recovery from surgery interrupted his training. In a 2012 interview with MMA-Norway, republished by Kimura, Einemo dated his start to 1998 at Scandinavian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy, or SBJJA. The academy trained at several locations around Oslo. Recalling the 2001 ADCC championship in a separate 2006 interview, he said he had entered as a blue belt with only two or three years of training. Einemo credited Richard Bohlenius with helping him approach that tournament aggressively. In his account, he beat Rigan Machado and Rolles Gracie before losing to Ricardo Arona in the semifinal and Ferreira in the bronze-medal match. The official results place him fourth in the under-99-kilogram division. Two years later, Einemo won the under-99-kilogram title. His 2003 campaign included a points victory over Roger Gracie and a submission win against Ferreira in the final. Ferreira had kept him off the podium in 2001; in 2003, they met with the championship at stake. Looking back in 2012, Einemo remembered securing the submission with roughly twenty seconds left in the match. Asked in 2006 what the title had meant to him, Einemo described it as the greatest achievement of his career so far and the fulfillment of a dream. In the same interview, he explained that a severe infection following foot surgery had required a long hospital stay and rehabilitation, interrupting his training after 2003. His account also described the practical limits on pursuing the sport professionally. Injury was one obstacle; the expense of international training, the absence of a contract and his responsibilities as a father were others. These were the circumstances he gave in 2006 for why sustained professional training had been difficult. By then he had returned to ADCC: the 2005 results record another fourth place, in the under-99-kilogram division, behind Roger Gracie, Ferreira and Xande Ribeiro. Looking back in 2012, Einemo said his return had taken roughly a year and a half, and that PRIDE had offered him a contract before he was ready to fight. He had already described the practical effect in 2006: securing a contract let him focus on training. He prepared in Australia, where, as he recalled in 2012, working with Mark Hunt's team provided the heavyweight sparring he had struggled to arrange in Norway. Frontline Academy's historical timeline describes a merger between SBJJA and Mixed Style Academy and names Einemo, Trond Saksenvik, Thomas Hytten and Joachim Hansen as its founders. In his 2012 interview, Einemo said he had stepped away when the clubs merged. MMA had already been part of his competitive life before the ADCC title: Sherdog's professional record begins in 2000. In 2006, he fought Fabrício Werdum in PRIDE and lost by decision. That same year he defeated James Thompson with an armbar, an arm lock. He later made two UFC appearances, in 2011 and 2012. Sherdog records six professional victories and three defeats across his career. By the time of his UFC appearances, Einemo was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. His description of training at Golden Glory emphasized how demanding the heavyweight sparring could be. Speaking in 2012, he named Alistair Overeem, Gökhan Saki, Semmy Schilt and Errol Zimmerman among the partners who challenged him. The first UFC bout also prompted a reassessment of how he fought. In the January 2012 interview, Einemo said he needed to relax, prepare his strikes and resist trying to force a knockout. He still wanted to end a fight rather than settle for controlling it. The adjustment he described was in how patiently he worked toward that finish.

Sources for this profile

  • Sherdog, “John Olav ‘The Viking’ Einemo”, fighter record, accessed 22 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Sherdog lists John Olav Einemo's date of birth as 10 December 1975.

      Where in the source: Fighter header: age and birth date.

      Accessed:

    • Sherdog identifies Einemo by the nickname ‘The Viking’.

      Where in the source: Fighter header beneath his name.

      Accessed:

    • Sherdog records a professional MMA career of six wins and three losses between 2000 and 2012, including appearances in PRIDE, 2H2H and the UFC.

      Where in the source: Fighter summary and complete professional fight-history table.

      Accessed:

    • Sherdog records Einemo's 2006 decision loss to Fabrício Werdum in PRIDE, his same-year armbar win over James Thompson, and his two UFC bouts in 2011 and 2012.

      Where in the source: Professional fight-history rows from PRIDE 31 through UFC on Fox 2.

      Accessed:

  • Frank Curreri, UFC, “Finding Einemo”, 7 June 2011.(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2011 UFC profile described Einemo as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

      Where in the source: Biographical paragraph introducing Einemo's response to the Carwin-to-Herman opponent change.

      Accessed:

  • Mats Bergesen, MMA-Norway via Kimura, interview with John Olav Einemo, 19 January 2012.(opens in a new tab)

    • Einemo said that he began grappling in 1998 with Scandinavian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy, which trained at several Oslo locations.

      Where in the source: Interview opening: “begynte å trene der i 98”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo recalled defeating Rigan Machado and Rolles Gracie in 2001 before losing the semifinal to Ricardo Arona and the bronze match to Alexandre Ferreira.

      Where in the source: ADCC memories: the Rigan Machado answer and the following answer covering Rolles, Arona and Ferreira.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo credited Richard Bohlenius as an important motivator for his aggressive mindset before the 2001 championship.

      Where in the source: ADCC recollection: “Richard ... mye av æren”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo remembered the 2003 final against Alexandre Ferreira as a rematch of their 2001 bronze match and said the submission came with about twenty seconds remaining.

      Where in the source: ADCC recollection: “revansjen i 2003”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo said he withdrew when the clubs merged into Frontline because he disagreed with the direction and preferred a rougher training setting to a commercial gym model.

      Where in the source: First answer, immediately after the list of Oslo training locations, on the merger and his withdrawal.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo described Golden Glory's heavyweight sparring as exceptionally hard and named Alistair Overeem, Gökhan Saki, Semmy Schilt and Errol Zimmerman among the partners who challenged him.

      Where in the source: The two consecutive Golden Glory questions about the training environment and elite kickboxing sparring partners.

      Accessed:

    • After his first UFC bout, Einemo said he had learned to relax, set up his strikes and avoid forcing a knockout; he also said he still preferred to finish rather than merely control a fight.

      Where in the source: Dave Herman reflection: “roe ned” through “avslutte kampen”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo said his return took about a year and a half; PRIDE offered him a contract before he was ready to fight, and training in Australia with Mark Hunt's team gave him heavyweight sparring he struggled to find in Norway.

      Where in the source: Answer to ‘Hvordan var veien tilbake?’, from the recovery period through the PRIDE contract and Australia training.

      Accessed:

  • Denis Martins, ADCC News, pre-PRIDE 31 interview with Jon-Olav Einemo, 13 February 2006.(opens in a new tab)

    • Looking back in 2006, Einemo said he entered the 2001 ADCC championship as a blue belt with two or three years of training.

      Where in the source: Interview answer beginning “Since I in 2001”.

      Accessed:

    • ADCC's 2006 interview states that Einemo beat Roger Gracie on points and submitted Alexandre Ferreira in the 2003 tournament.

      Where in the source: Question after Einemo's 2001 account: “submitted Alexandre” and “by points”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo described the 2003 ADCC title as the highlight of his career to that point and a dream realised.

      Where in the source: Answer to “career prior to and after this award”.

      Accessed:

    • Einemo said a severe infection after foot surgery caused a long hospital stay and rehabilitation that interrupted his training after 2003.

      Where in the source: Opening answer: foot operation and rehabilitation.

      Accessed:

    • In 2006 Einemo said that injury, the cost of training internationally, the lack of a contract and his responsibilities as a father had limited his ability to train professionally.

      Where in the source: Opening answers on the interrupted career and new contract; also the later answer about major-event offers, immediately before the ADCC 2005 question.

      Accessed:

    • In 2006 Einemo said that obtaining a contract allowed him to focus on training, and that he prepared for PRIDE in Australia because Norway offered few heavyweight training partners.

      Where in the source: Opening answers on the new contract and the later preparation answers naming Australia and the shortage of large training partners in Norway.

      Accessed:

  • ADCC Federation, “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2001”, official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • The official 2001 ADCC results place John Olav Einemo fourth in the under-99-kilogram division.

      Where in the source: 2001 results, -99kg table, fourth place.

      Accessed:

  • ADCC Federation, “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2003”, official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • The official 2003 ADCC results list Einemo as the under-99-kilogram gold medallist, ahead of Alexandre Ferreira, Roger Gracie and Xande Ribeiro.

      Where in the source: 2003 results, -99kg table, places one through four.

      Accessed:

  • Frontline Academy, “Historisk tidslinje for Frontline Academy”, accessed 22 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Frontline Academy's historical timeline names Einemo, Trond Saksenvik, Thomas Hytten and Joachim Hansen as founders and describes the academy as a merger of SBJJA and Mixed Style Academy.

      Where in the source: Opening timeline entry before the 2004 heading.

      Accessed:

  • ADCC Federation, “ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2005”, official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • The official 2005 ADCC results place Einemo fourth in the under-99-kilogram division, behind Roger Gracie, Alexandre Ferreira and Xande Ribeiro.

      Where in the source: 2005 results, -99kg table, places one through four.

      Accessed:

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2005ADCC 2005Source: adcombat.com-99 kgNo-giVerified4th place-99 kgNo-giVerified
2003ADCC 2003Source: adcombat.com-99 kgNo-giVerified1st place-99 kgNo-giVerified
2001ADCC 2001Source: adcombat.com-99 kgNo-giVerified4th place-99 kgNo-giVerified

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