Keenan Cornelius

Keenan Cornelius
Born	Keenan Kai-James Cornelius 25 February 1993 Hilo, Hawaii, USA
Other names	Hunter of the Black Belt Hunter[1] Cat boy
Residence	San Diego, California, USA
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Division	Middle-heavyweight (2012-present) Middleweight (2011-2012) Lightweight (2008-2011)
Style	Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Fighting out of	San Diego, California, USA
Team	Atos Jiu-Jitsu (2013-present), Team Lloyd Irvin (2011-2013), BJ Penn's MMA(2008-2011), Cassio Werneck Jiu-Jitsu (2006-2008)
Rank	Black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Andre Galvao

Keenan Cornelius

Medal record
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
	2015	-88kg
	2013	Absolute
	2013	-88kg
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
	2014	Absolute (black)[2]
	2013	Middle-Heavy (brown)[3]
	2013	Absolute (brown)[4]
	2012	Middleweight (purple)[5]
	2012	Absolute (purple)[6]
World No-Gi Championship
	2014	Middle-Heavy (black)[7]
	2014	Absolute (black)[8]
	2012	Middle-Heavy (brown)[9]
	2012	Absolute (brown)[10]
	2011	Middleweight (purple)[11]
Pan-American Championship
	2015	Middle-Heavy (black)[12]
	2014	Middle-Heavy (black)[13]
	2013	Middle-Heavy (brown)[14]
	2013	Absolute (brown)[15]
	2012	Middleweight (purple)[16]
	2012	Absolute (purple)[17]
European Open Championships
	2013	Middle-Heavy (brown)[18]
	2013	Absolute (brown)[19]
	2012	Middleweight (purple)[20]
	2012	Absolute (purple)[21]
Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship
	2012	Middleweight (purple)[22]
	2012	Absolute (purple)[23]
Atlanta International Championship
	2012	Middle-Heavy (brown)[24]
	2012	Absolute (brown)[25]
Houston International Championship
	2012	Middle-heavy (purple)[26]
	2012	Absolute (purple)[27]
Boston International Championship
	2013	Middle-Heavy (brown)[28]
	2013	Absolute (brown)[29]
Las Vegas International Championship
	2013	Middle-Heavy (brown)[30]
	2013	Absolute (brown)[31]
San Francisco International Open
	2014	Middle-Heavy (black)[32]
	2014	Absolute (black)[33]

Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is an American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner known for his competitive achievements,^[34] most notably including what has been dubbed a grand slam in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won double gold medals at four major tournaments - the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Pan-American Championship, European Open Championship, and Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship - at his given belt rank

Additional career highlights

Keenan's first exposure to martial arts training began at a young age, under his step-father, martial arts teacher Tom Callos, BJ Penn's first Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor.^[35] At the age of 14, he began casual grappling training with friends. Shortly thereafter, he began receiving formal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction under Cassio Werneck, then training for three years under BJ Penn, before ultimately joining with Team Lloyd Irvin. Despite his high-level victories as a purple belt and above, Keenan claims to have had a poor competitive showing early in his career, prior to his joining Team Lloyd Irvin, a move which Keenan held responsible for his later success.^[36]

2012

• On February 28, Keenan won the Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials Montreal Purple belt +74 kg absolute division.^[37]
• In April, Keenan competed in the World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup, winning his division (-82 kg.) and earning a bronze in the absolute division.^[38]
• On June 26, Keenan is promoted to brown belt under Lloyd Irvin.^[39]

2013

• On February 27, Keenan announced his split from Team Lloyd Irvin. A few days later, it was officially announced that he would be joining Atos Jiu-Jitsu.^[40][41] After his transition to Atos, Keenan continued his run as the most accomplished brown belt in the history of the sport, winning nearly every major tournament at his weight and open class with the only exception being the 2013 IBJJF Brown Belt Absolute Division where he placed Second.^[42]
• On September 14, Keenan was promoted to black belt under André Galvão.^[43]
• On December 8, Keenan won the medium-heavy/heavyweight division of the 2nd IBJJF Pro League for the prize of $5,000 by defeating Diego Gamoral and Jackson Souza.^[44]

2014

• On March 29, 2014, Keenan was scheduled to face Vinny Magalhaes in Metamoris III. However, Vinny was forced to withdraw before the match, being hospitalized with a MRSA infection. He was replaced by Rickson black belt Kevin Casey. The match ended as a win for Keenan, using 50/50 guard and getting a submission with an inside heel hook.^[45]
• In April, Keenan competed in the 2014 Abu Dhabi BJJ World Pro Championship, winning bronze in the black belt adult 94 kg division.^[46]
• On August 9, 2014, Keenan competed against Vinny Magalhaes at Metamoris IV. The match ended in a draw.
• On November 22, 2014, Keenan competed against Yuri Simoes at Metamoris V. The match ended in a draw.

2015

• On January 10, 2015, Keenan competed against Dean Lister at Polaris Pro. He won the match with a reverse triangle choke from back control.

2016

• On August 13, 2016, Keenan lost a no time limit submission only match to up and coming black belt, Gordon Ryan. The match ended after a hard fought 90 minutes, when Ryan secured an inside heel hook causing Cornelius to tap.

Works

In 2013, Keenan published a 5-part DVD set highlighting concepts signature to his highly-modern competition style.^[47]

External links

• Keenan's expanded biography at BJJ Heroes
• Keenan's MARanking (GI) profile

References

1. Silva, Naoyuki. "Keenan Cornelius: The Black Belt Hunter…Hunter". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
2. "World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2014" (PDF). Official IBJJF results. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
3. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
4. "World Jiu-Jitsu Championship". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
5. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
6. "World Jiu-Jitsu Championship". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
7. "World Jiu-Jitsu No-GI Championship 2014" (PDF). Official IBJJF results. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
8. "World Jiu-Jitsu No-GI Championship 2014" (PDF). Official IBJJF results. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
9. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
10. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
11. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
12. "Results" (PDF). Official IBJJF results. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
13. "Results" (PDF). Official IBJJF results. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
14. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
15. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
16. "Resultados Parciais". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
17. "Resultados Parciais". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
18. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
19. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
20. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
21. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
22. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
23. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
24. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
25. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
26. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
27. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
28. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
29. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
30. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
31. "Results". Official IBJJF results. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
32. "Final Results" (PDF). IBJJF. February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
33. "Final Results" (PDF). IBJJF. February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
34. "Keenan Cornelius BJJ (GI) career on MARanking". Maranking.com. 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
35. "What is Tom Callos To BJ Penn?". Hawaiisportspage.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
36. Herle, Erin (September 6, 2012). "View From The Top: Keenan Cornelius Refuses to Lose". Pulling Guard Zine. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
37. Rod, Dan (February 28, 2012). "WPJJ Montréal – The Finalists!". Graciemag. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
38. "WPJJC 2012 Results & Photos". UAE Jiu-Jitsu. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
39. Trindade, Ivan (June 26, 2012). "Nyjah Easton a black belt, Cornelius a brown belt and other Lloyd Irvin promotions". Graciemag. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
40. Trindade, Ivan (February 27, 2013). "Keenan is leaving Team Lloyd Irvin. Where is he going to?". Graciemag. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
41. "Keenan confirms move to Atos JJ, JT Torres follows". Graciemag. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
42. "Keenan Cornelius". BJJ Heroes. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
43. Trindade, Ivan (September 14, 2013). "Keenan Cornelius promoted to black belt". GracieMag. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
44. Peligro, Kid (December 8, 2013). "IBJJF Pro League Results". ADCC. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
45. Grant, T.P. (March 29, 2014). "Metamoris 3: Gracie vs Bravo Results, Highlights and GIFs". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
46. Grant, T.P. (April 21, 2014). "2014 Abu Dhabi BJJ World Pro Championship Results and Video". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
47. Faggella, Dan (May 24, 2013). "Keenan Cornelius DVD Review". On The Mat. Retrieved September 27, 2013.