North American Grappling Association

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North American Grappling Association
Competition details
Competition date(s)Established in 1995
LocationNorth America
MMA locales -
Massachusetts; New Jersey
DisciplineSubmission Grappling - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Full contact sports - Mixed martial arts
TypeOpen Tournaments
OrganiserNAGA
Divisions
Current skill divisionsList of skill levels
Current weight divisionsList of weight divisions

The North American Grappling Association (NAGA) is a grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) promotion started in 1995. NAGA Submission Grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournaments are held throughout North America and Europe. NAGA is the largest submission grappling association in the world with over 700,000 participants world-wide, including some of the top submission grapplers and MMA fighters in the world.[1] NAGA grappling tournaments consist of gi and no-gi divisions. No-Gi competitors compete under rules drafted by NAGA. Gi competitors compete under standardized Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rules. NAGA also promotes MMA events which they term Reality Fighting.

Skill levels[edit]

Competitors in NAGA competitions are broken into weight divisions, skill levels, and age categories.

Adults (18 years & over)[clarification needed][edit]

  • Novice (6 months total grappling experience)
  • Beginner (6 months to 2 years total grappling experience)
  • Intermediate (2 years to 5 years total grappling experience. BJJ blue belts are Intermediate)
  • Expert (5 years + total grappling experience. BJJ purple, brown, black belts are Expert)

Children (13 years & under) & Teens (14-17 years)[edit]

  • Novice (6 months & under total grappling experience. Children are not allowed to do submissions)
  • Beginner (6 months to 1 year total grappling experience)
  • Intermediate (1 year to 2 years total grappling experience)
  • Advance (2 years to 3 years total grappling experience)
  • Expert (3 years + total grappling experience)

Total grappling experience includes but is not limited to; wrestling experience, BJJ experience, judo experience, sambo experience, JKD experience, etc. Any training that consists of grappling is counted towards your total experience. Former Champions Frank Mir, Joe Fiorentino, Anthony Porcelli, and Shonie Carter.

Weight divisions[edit]

Men's No-Gi & Gi[edit]

Weight class name Weight Range
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg)
Flyweight < 129.9 < 59.9
Bantamweight 130-139.9 60-64.9
Featherweight 140-149.9 65-69.9
Lightweight 150-159.9 70-74.9
Welterweight 160-169.9 75-79.9
Middleweight 170-179.9 80-84.9
Light Heavyweight 180-189.9 n/a
Cruiserweight 190-199.9 85-89.9
Heavyweight 200-224.9 85-89.9
Super-Heavyweight 225-249.9 100-114.9
Ultra-Heavyweight Ultra-Heavyweight 250 & over

Women's Gi & No-Gi[edit]

Weight class name Weight Range
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg)
Sub-atomic < 99.9 < 44.9
Atomweight 100-109.9 45-49.9
Strawweight 110-119.9 50-54.9
Flyweight 120-129.9 55-59.9
Bantamweight 130-139.9 60-64.9
Featherweight 140-149.9 65-69.9
Lightweight 150-159.9 70-74.9
Welterweight 160-169.9 75-79.9
Middleweight 170-179.9 80-84.9
Light Heavyweight 180-189.9 n/a
Cruiserweight 190-199.9 85-89.9
Heavyweight 200 & over 90 & over

Children's No-Gi & Gi Grappling Divisions (13 years of age & under)[edit]

Upper limit
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg)
< 39.9 < 19.9
40-49.9 20-24.9
50-59.9 25-29.9
60-69.9 30-34.9
70-79.9 35-39.9
80-89.9 40-44.9
90-99.9 45-49.9
100-109.9 50-54.9
110-119.9 55-59.9
120-129.9 60-64.9
130-139.9 65-69.9
140-149.9 70-80
150-159.9
160-169.9
170-179.9
180 (80kg) & over compete in Teens

Teen's NO-GI & GI Grappling Divisions (14 to 17 years of age)[edit]

Weight class name Upper limit
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg)
Flyweight < 99.9 < 44.9
Bantamweight 100-109.9 45-49.9
Featherweight 110-119.9 50-54.9
Lightweight 120-129.9 55-59.9
Welterweight 130-139.9 60-64.9
Middleweight 140-149.9 65-69.9
Light Heavyweight 150-159.9 70-74.9
Cruiserweight 160-179.9 75-79.9
Heavyweight 180-199.9 80-84.9
Super Heavyweight 200 & over 85 & over

Reality Fighting[edit]

NAGA's MMA division, Reality Fighting, holds mixed martial arts events in New Jersey and Massachusetts.[2] The rules that govern each match are set by each state's athletic commission.[3] [4] Reality Fighting previous champions include BJJ Black Belt and UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga,[5] current Reality Fighting Light-Heavyweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir veteran Mike Stewart and former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.[6][failed verification] Some other notable fighters who fought in Reality Fighting are Frankie Edgar, Joe Lauzon, Kenny Florian, Tim Sylvia, Jorge Rivera, Kurt Pellegrino, Jim Miller, Dan Miller, Rob Font, Joe Proctor, Matt Bessette, Josh Diekmann, and Josh Grispi.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Nagafighter.com". North American Grappling Association. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  2. ^ http://www.nagafighter.com Reality Fighting
  3. ^ http://www.mass.gov Massachusetts Athletic Commission
  4. ^ http://www.nj.gov New Jersey State ACB
  5. ^ http://www.ufc.com Fighter Profile
  6. ^ http://www.sherdog.com Fighter profile

External links[edit]