Josh Saunders

Josh Saunders is an Australian heavyweight grappler from Sydney and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Luke Martin. He represents Sydney West Martial Arts (SWMA) and is the founder of HPU Coaching.

A former rugby league player, Josh played the sport for nearly two decades before taking up jiu-jitsu in 2020, at 23. He progressed quickly, winning the ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials less than two years later and earning his black belt in under four years. His game is built on wrestling and strong takedowns.

He won the Asia & Oceania Trials at over 99 kg in both 2022 and 2023, which took him to the ADCC World Championship in 2022 and 2024. In Las Vegas in 2024 he beat Mike Perez and submitted Damon Ramos to reach the semifinals. That year he also took double gold at both the ADCC Sydney Open and the ADCC Australia Oceania Open, and headlined WNO 24 against Gordon Ryan for the heavyweight title.

At the 2026 ADCC World Championship in Kraków, he beat Francis Pana, Roosevelt Sousa and top seed Felipe Pena to reach the over 99 kg final and took silver.

Alongside competing, Josh runs HPU Coaching, an online programme that helps white and blue belts stop getting smashed by teaching them to think like black belts.

Main Achievements:

• ADCC World Championship (2026) – Silver (+99 kg)
• ADCC Australia Oceania Open (2024) – Gold (2x) (Professional, +100 kg and Absolute)
• ADCC Sydney Open (2024) – Gold (2x) (Professional, +100 kg and Absolute)
• ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (2023, 2022) – Gold (2x) (+99 kg)