BJJ Gyms in North Carolina

North Carolina's BJJ coverage in this directory is concentrated almost entirely in the Charlotte metro — 40 academies across 15 NC cities (plus 2 Charlotte-suburb listings on the South Carolina side of the state line). Within Charlotte proper, the strongest competition pedigree by a wide margin belongs to **Lucas Lepri** at **Alliance Jiu Jitsu Lucas Lepri | Charlotte** on Monroe Rd — Lepri is a 9-time IBJJF Black Belt World Champion, IBJJF Hall of Fame inductee, and direct Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti / Alliance lineage student who came to the US via Alliance NYC and Alliance HQ Atlanta before opening his own academy. The Charlotte location and its sister academy in Fort Mill SC have together produced 26+ IBJJF World Titles. Lepri's Alliance presence is paralleled by two Atos lineage academies in the metro: **Mindset BJJ Academy** (Marlon Loor Vera, 3rd-degree black belt and 2x IBJJF No-Gi World Champion in 2019 and 2024 plus 8x IBJJF No-Gi Pan Champion, with his black belt awarded by UFC champion Gilbert Burns and degrees from Andre Galvao) and **ATOS Jiu Jitsu of Charlotte** (Fernando Loor Vera, multi-time IBJJF medalist, operating since June 2011 inside Club Fitness on South Tryon, also under the Galvao Atos lineage). Together the Lepri / Loor Vera trio gives Charlotte three of the most decorated IBJJF competitors anywhere in the Southeast. The second pillar of the metro is the **Roberto Traven** cluster — Traven is a Carlson Gracie Coral Belt whose student tree dominates Charlotte's south and east suburbs. Jae Ho Lee (3rd-degree under Traven, IBJJF Pan Ams / Abu Dhabi World Pro / IBJJF World Masters champion) founded **Top Martial Arts Charlotte (TMA Charlotte)** in Pineville in 2012 and runs sister academy **Mint Hill Jiu-Jitsu** under the same ownership (with Long Nguyen, a Checkmat black belt under Paulo "Mushu" Elsimaani, leading the No-Gi program). **Mecklenburg Martial Arts** in Mint Hill is a Carlson Gracie Junior affiliate. **BC Kickboxing & BJJ** (Ben Corpuz, 2nd-degree black belt under Roberto Traven and Kru-certified Muay Thai instructor under Master Toddy) operates parallel locations in Matthews/Waxhaw with one of the most detailed published pricing structures in the metro at $149–$599 across 11 tiers. The Renzo Gracie thread runs through **Renzo Gracie Charlotte** and **Leadership Martial Arts** in Steele Creek (same address, phone, and head instructor — Derek "TC" Richardson, 3rd-degree BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie with 30+ years martial arts and a 6th-degree martial arts black belt). The Brazilian Top Team flag is carried by **Brazilian Top Team Charlotte** (Guto Neto, 3rd-degree black belt under BTT founder Murilo Bustamante, opened July 2023). The Checkmat lineage runs through **Real American Grappling** (formerly Checkmat Charlotte), led by 3rd-degree Michael Allen with three black belts on staff. **Gracie Barra Charlotte** holds the GB flag inside city limits. The independent and specialty bench across Greater Charlotte rounds out an unusually wide picture. **Charlotte Jiu-Jitsu Academy (CJJA)** in NoDa (2508 N Davidson St) publishes a clean $150 (2x/wk) / $180 (unlimited) tier and lists an unusually large coaching roster — including BJJ self-defense YouTuber **Eli Knight** — and reports 26+ IBJJF World Titles and 9 World Champions made on the mats. **Core Combat Academies** (founded 2012) is led by Stan Banks (2x NCAA D1 All-American, 2x ACC Champion wrestling), giving Charlotte a wrestling-anchored grappling room. The Hayastan Submission Fighting (Gokor Chivichyan) lineage runs through **Hayastan MMA Charlotte** in Matthews (founded by the late Sensei Paul Booe, with Tony Tan as Hayastan Level 10) and its sister **Carolina Combat Sports & Fitness** in Indian Trail (Tom Ziegler, Hayastan black belt — known for training UFC's Bryan "The Butcher" Battle, TUF29 winner). **Solecki Jiu Jitsu Academy** in Gastonia is led by UFC veteran Joe Solecki, a Dana White Contender Series winner whose system also affiliates **Fuzion Martial Arts** (Justin Revak) in Charlotte. **Royce Gracie Academy of Lake Norman** in Denver and **Fight to Win Royce Gracie Charlotte Jiu Jitsu HQ** in Concord both carry the Royce Gracie / Team Fight to Win banner, joined by **Team ROC Harrisburg Jiu Jitsu MMA** (Hallie "Snake" Hair, Royce Gracie black belt with 26+ years experience). **Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Monroe** is a Certified Gracie University Training Center publishing a transparent $115 Combatives / $120 Master Cycle / $110 Bullyproof tier. **Zen Jiu-Jitsu & Fitness** in Monroe is led by 5th-degree black belt George Tala. **Wander Braga Brazilian Jiu Jitsu** (Braga Brothers USA) operates two metro locations in Cornelius and Concord/Kannapolis. **Honest Grappling Co.** in Kannapolis stacks three black belts on staff (Mike Powell, Mitch Alley, Ramsey Nimer) with a published $140 unlimited adult rate and a Sunday open mat. **Union Martial Arts** in Indian Trail runs a single $169 unlimited tier under black belt Coach Nolan, formerly of one of NYC's largest MMA academies. **Fight Sports Charlotte** in Pineville, **GYM O** in Belmont (Scott Bell black belt + Diego Costa MMA / Seky Delfino Judo), **BodyShot Combat & Fitness** in Lowell, **4M Fitness & MMA** in Indian Trail, **Ballantyne Martial Arts**, **Dojo Arts**, **KC Roll Jiu Jitsu** (at Karate Charlotte), **Fit to Fight Charlotte**, **CK MMA and Fitness** in Kannapolis, **Shock Factor MMA**, and **Arte Suave Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy Charlotte** complete the metro footprint. Adult unlimited monthly pricing across the Charlotte side typically runs $115–$180, with the most detailed structure at BC Kickboxing & BJJ ($149–$599 across 11 tiers).