Amanda Bruse is an American jiu-jitsu black belt who competes in IBJJF no-gi and submission grappling. BJJ Heroes lists her team as Atos. She has medalled at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds every year since 2023. Her Instagram covers competition preparation and training in San Diego, and she has talked about competition nerves on podcasts such as BJJ Mental Models (episode 306, "Tactics for Jiu-Jitsu Anxiety").
Background
Amanda Dean Bruse was born on 6 September 2000 in Iowa City, Iowa. She started training in Poughkeepsie, New York, and later moved to San Diego to train with Atos. At purple belt she won the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds absolute in 2020. At brown belt she won the 2022 Pan No-Gi absolute. André Galvão promoted her to black belt on 13 January 2023. Her lineage runs through Luis Dagmar and Osvaldo Alves to Reylson Gracie.
Black belt results
- IBJJF World No-Gi: silver in 2023, bronze in 2024 and silver in 2025.
- IBJJF Pan No-Gi: champion in 2024 and bronze in 2025.
- 2025: European No-Gi silver and American Nationals No-Gi champion.
When we checked in October 2026, BJJ Heroes listed her record as 46 wins and 30 losses, with 29 wins by submission.
Style and signature techniques
BJJ Heroes calls her "well rounded". Her finishes there include:
- 6 armbars
- 5 straight ankle locks
- 3 inside heel hooks
- 3 rear-naked chokes
- 2 kneebars and 2 guillotines
- one each by kimura, north-south choke, Aoki lock and triangle
Notable matches
- Jaine Fragoso: beat her three times: by kimura in 2023, by inside heel hook at the 2023 No-Gi Worlds and by armbar in 2025.
- 2024 Pan No-Gi final: choked Julia Maele.
- 2025 No-Gi Worlds: beat Caroline Brunacio with an Aoki lock in the semi-final, then lost the final to Lillian Marchand by rear-naked choke.
- 2023 No-Gi Worlds final: lost 21–0 on points to Ffion Davies.
- 2024 No-Gi Worlds semi-final: choked by Mo Black.
- 2026: submitted Taelor Moore in the final of an ADCC open event (listed by BJJ Heroes as ADCC PNX).
Follower counts are curated snapshots, not live data.