Dan Manasoiu

Daniel “Big Dan” Manasoiu is an American no-gi submission grappler and one of the most physically imposing athletes in modern professional jiu-jitsu. Born October 16, 2001, he stands about 6'7" and typically competes in the super-heavyweight / +99 kg class at roughly 270–300+ pounds. The nickname “Big Dan” and Instagram handle @jiujitsugiant reflect a frame that, combined with surprising athleticism and a technical Danaher-system game, has made him a recurring problem for elite heavyweights.

Manasoiu rose through the late Danaher Death Squad era and into New Wave Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas, training under John Danaher alongside Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon, Luke Griffith, and other elite partners. As a blue belt in August 2021 he won double gold (weight and absolute) at the ADCC Romania Nationals, submitting a field of experienced brown and black belts with a leg-lock-heavy attack—Danaher publicly highlighted the performance. He later featured on FloGrappling’s Who’s Next: Submission Fighter Challenge reality series (2022), which helped introduce him to a wider audience while he was still early in his competitive career.

His ADCC path defined the next phase. At the 2022 ADCC West Coast Trials he reached the +99 kg final (losing to Kyle Boehm), then rebounded by winning the 2022 ADCC Europe, Middle East & African Trials—securing a berth at the 2022 ADCC World Championships in Las Vegas, where he fell in the opening round on points to Victor Hugo. Danaher promoted him to purple belt around October 2022. He continued stacking open-weight and pro-circuit results: Emerald City Invitational open-weight gold (November 2022, EBI-style finishes and a $5,000 prize), strong showings on UFC Fight Pass Invitational cards (including finishes of UFC veterans such as Joe Solecki and James Krause at FPI 2), Submission Hunter Pro grand-prix success (including Sub Hunter Pro 84 in 2023), and a run to the FPI 4 superfight grand-prix final where he submitted Gabriel Arges and Fedor Nikolov before losing to Nick Rodriguez.

Manasoiu re-qualified for ADCC by winning the +99 kg division at the 2023 ADCC North American East Coast Trials in Atlantic City. At the 2024 ADCC World Championships in Las Vegas he produced his career highlight to date: wins over Mark Macqueen and Haisam Rida (arm-triangle / katagatame), a semifinal loss to teammate Luke Griffith, and a bronze-medal finish via straight ankle lock over Josh Saunders—confirming him as a podium-level +99 kg contender while still a colored belt. Parallel pro appearances included ADXC and other invitationals. He has also published the “Milk the System” instructional series on BJJ Fanatics (leg locks, power passing, mount attacks, and leg-lock defense), packaging the New Wave pressure-and-entanglement approach for a broader audience.

Health setbacks have interrupted peak campaigns. Reporting and his own public statements describe rhabdomyolysis and kidney-related issues around the 2024 ADCC cycle, and in August 2025 he withdrew from Craig Jones Invitational 2 after a Lyme disease diagnosis, stepping off New Wave’s planned +99 kg team slot. Through recovery periods he has remained associated with Danaher’s squad and the Austin no-gi scene. Style-wise he is known for size-leveraged control, body-lock and pressure top game, cross-ashi and outside-ashi entries, heel hooks and ankle locks, and upper-body finishes (arm-triangle, rear naked choke) once mount or back control is secured—an unusually complete submission toolkit for an athlete of his stature.