Todd Margolis is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Pedro Sauer, founder of the Potomac MMA Academy, who worked extensively with Lloyd Irvin and Mário Yamasaki. During the early 2000s, Margolis was widely regarded as one of the top grapplers in the world, a reputation earned after he beat big names of the sport such as Marc Laimon, Pablo Popovich, Rafael Lovato Jr., Kenny Florian, Ricky Migliarese, Shawn Williams, and medaled in the ADCC US Trials. Todd Margolis was also the first American athlete to reach the final of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation's (IBJJF) Pan American Championships at the adult black belt level, and the first US athlete to conquer a medal in the tournament's open weight division (adult BB).