Eldar "Yakuza" Rafigaev is a Moldovan-born jiu-jitsu black belt who trains and teaches at Jungle BJJ in Prague. Online he goes by Yakuza, a nickname BJJ Heroes says his boxing training partners gave him because of his Japanese-style tattoos. His Instagram is known for competition footage and leg locks.
Background
Rafigaev was born on 14 April 1987 in Chișinău, Moldova. He came to martial arts as an adult in the Czech Republic, joining a boxing club at 23. In 2011 he started jiu-jitsu at a small Czech gym and moved to Jungle BJJ as a blue belt. In 2017 he won the brown belt division at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro. He received his black belt around mid-2017, after about six years of training. BJJ Heroes names Fernando Araújo as his instructor and traces the lineage through Francisco Albuquerque and Carlson Gracie.
Competition highlights
- 2017 (brown belt): Abu Dhabi World Pro, IBJJF European Open and German Nationals (gi and no-gi) champion.
- 2018: won the ADCC European Trials, plus IBJJF Spanish Nationals, Paris Fall Open (gi and no-gi) and European Open no-gi titles.
- 2019: IBJJF Rome, Paris Spring and Poznań Open titles.
He competes at super-heavyweight (−100.5 kg). When we checked in October 2026, BJJ Heroes listed 108 wins and 35 losses, with 74% of wins by submission.
Style and signature techniques
BJJ Heroes lists the toe hold and kneebar as his favourite techniques. His finishes are dominated by footlocks: 55 footlock wins, 10 kneebars, and smaller numbers of rear-naked chokes, triangles and straight ankle locks.
Notable matches
- ADCC 2019: choked by Kaynan Duarte.
- Adam Wardziński: Adam Wardziński beat him in four finals listed by BJJ Heroes: the 2017 Poznań Pro on points, then in 2018 the ACB European (by disqualification), the Paris Spring Open and the Greece National Pro.
- 2023 UWW World Championship: a triangle win over Ivan Snihur.
- 2025 AJP World Pro: lost the semi-final to Alexander Sak by straight ankle lock.
Team
He represents Jungle BJJ in Prague, the academy Araújo founded, alongside fellow Jungle BJJ black belt Daniel "Ragnar" Holý. Follower counts are curated snapshots, not live data.