I was born and raised in Kranj, Slovenia a small town, that thankfully had a judo klub. I started training there when I was about 9 or 10 years old. During my teenage years I was fortnute enough to train with the Slovenian national team, which produced a number of Olympic gold medalists.
My own results in judo left something to be desired. My best result was placing second in the National championship as a junior and third as a cadet. When I was 18, I was awarded my black belt 1. dan in judo. Around the same time, the rules of judo were changing in a way that made it a less complete martial arts. There also wasn’t many people my size and age training in the club, so I decided to porsue MMA.
I joined the almost brand new MMA academy in my town, which also to have jiu jitsu classes. I trained in every available class and soon discovered that MMA is ok and all, but jiu jitsu was what I was made to do. During the next 3 years, I competed in both MMA and jiu jitsu. In amateur MMA I compiled a record of 11-1 with 11 first round finishes and one decision loss. In jiu jitsu I remained largely undefeated as a white and blue belt in regional competitions.
In 2012 I began competing internationally, first taking double bronze at the 2012 IBJJF Nogi Europeans. I the same year I also became sponsored by Scramble, which helped me compete more frequently. In 2013 I left Slovenia for a year to train at what is now Berszerkers team Warsaw. In 2015 I left first for Norway and eventually Dublin, Ireland. There I finished my masters degree and much more importantly earned my brown belt under Darragh O’Conaill. Even more importantly it was around that time that I began competing on Polaris Professional, so far amasing a record of 3-1.
For the last few years, my wife and I have been travelling around the world (link to /travel), training at academies like Renzo Gracie Academy NYC, Atos San Diego, Absolute MMA St. Kilda, Carpe Diem Tokyo and many, many more.
Serbian Open BJJ Championship – Gold
BJJ Nogi Tournament ‘’Kralj Tomislav 2010’’ – 76kg – Gold
Serbian Open BJJ Championship – Gold
Bjelovar Grappling Tournament – Silver
Croatian Open Jiu-Jitsu – Gold
Croatian Open Jiu-Jitsu – Bronze
BJJ Nogi Tournament ‘’Kralj Tomislav 2011’’ – 79,5kg – Gold
1.Slovenian Open BJJ Championship – 3rd place
Slovenian MMA Ligue – 2nd place
Slovenian National Championship – Grappling – Nogi – 1st (only edition)
Bjelovar Combat Grappling Tournament – Silver
IBJJF European Open – Nogi – Bronze
IBJJF European Open – Nogi – Bronze
ADCC European championship (trials) – 4th place – -77kg, elite
Croatian Open – Gold –
International Cage Grappling Tournament, Sesvete – Croatia – Gold
Slovenian MMA League – 1st place
VIII. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Hungarian Open – Gold and Bronze
2nd Slovenian Open BJJ Championship – 1st place
IBJJF Rome International Open – Bronze
IBJJF Rome International Open – Gold – Openweight
UAEJJF Warsaw Pro Trials – Gold
UAEJJF Warsaw Pro Trials – 4th place – Openweight
IBJJF European Open – Nogi – Silver
ADCC Slovenia Open – Gold – -77kg, elite
ADCC Slovenia Open – Gold – Openweight, elite
Split Open regional tournament – gold
Split Open regional tournament – gold – Openweight
Ranked #5 in the world – IBJJF nogi, blue belt
IBJJF Rome Open – Gold – (blue belt)
IBJJF Rome Open – Gold – Openweight
IBJJF Zadar Open – Silver
IBJJF Zadar Open – Silver – Openweight
IBJJF Munich Winter Open – Bronze
IBJJF Munich Winter Open – Silver – Openweight
UAEJFF Warsaw Trials – Gold
UAEJJF Birmingham Trials – Bronze
UAEJJF Birmingham Trials – Silver
ADCC Poland National championship – -88kg – Intermediate
Finnish Open – Silver
Finnish Open – Silver – Openweight
ADCC Poland Mizowsza Open – Gold -88kg – Advanced
ADCC Eastern European Open – Gold – Openweigh
UAEJJF Serbia National Pro – Gold
UAEJJF Serbia National Pro – Silver – Openweight
UAEJJF Switzerland National Pro – Gold
IBJJF London Fall Open – Gold
IBJJF London Fall Open – Nogi – Bronze
IBJJF Munich Winter Open – Nogi – Gold
IBJJF Rome Open – Gi – Silver
IBJJF European Open – Nogi – Bronze
Irish national championship – Nogi – Bronze
Irish national championship – Nogi – Gold
ADCC Eastern European Open – Gold – -88kg
ADCC Eastern European Open – Gold – Openweight
OTG Budapest – Superfight – Winner
Croatian National Championship – Gold
Dublin International Open – Gold
Dublin International Open – Gold – Openweight
Northern Ireland Open – Gold
Northern Ireland Open – Gold – Openweight
Ireland University Grappling League – -88kg – Elite
ADCC Ireland National Championship – Gold – -88kg, elite
ADCC Ireland National Championship – Silver – Openweight, elite
Finnish Open – Silver
IBJJF Spanish Nationals – Nogi – Gold
IBJJF Spanish Nationals – Gi – Gold
IBJJF Spanish Nationals – Nogi – Silver – Openweight
NAGA Ireland Championship – Gold – Gi
IBJJF European Open – Nogi – Silver
UAEJJF London Grand Slam – Bronze
SubOver80 Dublin – Pro Tournament – Champion – Openweight
IBJJF Los Angeles Winter Open – Gi – Bronze
IBJJF Atlanta Winter Open – Gi – Gold
Grappling Industries Sydney, Australia – Nogi – Gold – Elite
Grappling Industries Sydney, Australia – Nogi – Gold – Openweight – Elite
New Zealand National Nogi Championship (open) – Gold – Elite
New Zealand National Nogi Championship (open) – Gold – Elite
UAEJJF Austria National Pro – Gi – Silver
2 superfights: vs. Boogeyman Martinez on Polaris & Craig Jones on GrappleFest