# Elisabeth Clay

> American submission hunter, 2017 ADCC Trials winner, WNO champion, Polaris Grand Prix winner, and multiple-time IBJJF World No-Gi champion.

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- **Source site:** Ossmeta (https://ossmeta.com)
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-18

## Identity

- **Name:** Elisabeth Clay
- **Full name:** Elisabeth Ann Clay Moreira
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu
- **Nationality:** United States
- **Born:** 2000-06-10
- **Birthplace:** Katy, Texas, United States
- **Weight class:** Middleweight / Medium Heavy (IBJJF middle ~69 kg; no-gi 66.5-77 kg; WNO 145 lb)

## Biography

Elisabeth Ann Clay Moreira was born on June 10, 2000, in Katy, Texas, and spent her early childhood moving through Texas, Oklahoma, and eventually Soldotna, Alaska. She came from a gymnastics family and began gymnastics at 18 months old, initially chasing an Olympic-style athletic path. After the Clay family settled in Alaska, the available gymnastics environment no longer matched her ambitions, and at 12 she found a local mixed martial arts gym. Grappling quickly became the part of MMA that held her attention, and she began building her first jiu-jitsu base under Mason Ryder Spadafore.

Clay's competitive ceiling rose after she moved into Legacy Jiu-Jitsu in Anchorage, an Ares affiliate led by Jordan Kontra. As a juvenile blue belt she was already winning IBJJF majors, including 2016 World juvenile gold and later major blue-belt titles in 2018. Her breakout came at 16, when she won the 2017 ADCC West Coast Trials as a blue belt, beating older and higher-ranked opposition and earning a reputation as one of the sport's rare teenage black-belt killers. In mid-2018 she relocated to Ares Jiu-Jitsu headquarters in Modesto, California, to train under Samir Chantre and Osvaldo "Queixinho" Moizinho, who promoted her to black belt in November 2020 after a run of elite professional wins.

At black belt, Clay quickly translated her colored-belt promise into adult titles. In 2021 she submitted Maria Malyjasiak in her black-belt gi debut to win a Fight 2 Win title, then took double gold at IBJJF Pan No-Gi with submissions through both the weight and absolute brackets. She followed with her first black-belt World No-Gi title in 2021 and added another major double at 2022 Pan No-Gi. Her 2022 season also included an ADCC World Championship appearance as a late replacement, where she lost to eventual champion Amy Campo, and a dominant IBJJF World No-Gi performance that included weight and absolute gold.

The 2023 season showed Clay's range across rule sets. She won the IBJJF Pan Championship in the gi, captured the Polaris 23 under-66 kg women's grand prix by beating Joanna Dineva, Ffion Davies, and Amy Campo in one night, then defeated Brianna Ste-Marie by decision to become WNO women's featherweight champion. She also submitted Luiza Monteiro at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5. In 2024 she stepped away from competition to have her first child with husband Danilo Moreira, then returned just over two months later at IBJJF No-Gi Pans, winning heavy and open-class gold before adding the 2024 IBJJF World No-Gi middleweight title.

Clay remained active through a demanding 2025-2026 stretch. She lost the WNO featherweight belt to Helena Crevar by rear naked choke in April 2025, but rebounded with a Brasileiro title, World Championship silver at middleweight, absolute bronze, and a major 2025 World No-Gi double-gold run that included submission wins over Adele Fornarino, Injana Goodman, Gabrieli Pessanha, and Rebeca Lima. IBJJF's athlete results list her under Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Fort Worth - Team Marra by 2026, with Brasileiro and Brasileiro No-Gi titles plus Pan and World podiums. Her game remains defined by closed guard, leg locks, guillotines, and a high finishing rate that shows up across gi, no-gi, and professional submission-only formats.

## Lineage

Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Samir Chantre > Elisabeth Clay

## Instructors

- Samir Chantre
- Osvaldo Moizinho
- Jordan Kontra
- Mason Ryder Spadafore

## Signature techniques / game

- Closed guard
- Toe hold
- Straight ankle lock
- Inside heel hook
- Outside heel hook
- Kneebar
- Guillotine
- Gogoplata
- Back attacks

## Major achievements

- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2021, 2022 weight and absolute, 2024, 2025 weight and absolute)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi (2021 weight and absolute, 2022 weight and absolute, 2024 weight and absolute)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023, black belt middleweight)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals / Brasileiro (2025, 2026 middleweight)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi / Brasileiro Sem Kimono (2026 middleweight and absolute)
- Polaris 23 Women's Under 66 kg Grand Prix Champion (2023)
- Who's Number One Women's Featherweight Champion (2023; defeated Brianna Ste-Marie)
- Fight 2 Win Heavyweight Champion (2021)
- SUBVERSIV Tournament Champion (2020)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2021 medium-heavy; 2025 middleweight; 2026 middleweight)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship absolute (2025)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2021 medium-heavy; 2026 middleweight)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship absolute (2026)
- 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 medium-heavy)
- 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2023 middleweight)

## Colored belt highlights

- 1st Place ADCC West Coast / American Trials (2017, blue belt, age 16)
- 3rd Place ADCC North American Trials (2019)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship juvenile (2016 weight and absolute; 2017 weight)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2018 blue belt absolute)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2018 purple weight and absolute; 2019 brown weight and absolute)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2018 blue belt weight and absolute)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi (2018 blue belt weight and absolute; 2019 purple)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship juvenile (2016 weight and absolute)
- Notable 2020 pro wins before black belt included Kendall Reusing, Luiza Monteiro, Maggie Grindatti, and SUBVERSIV 4 opponents

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethclaybjj/

## Sources

- [BJJ Heroes - Elisabeth Clay](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/elisabeth-clay)
- [BJJ Heroes - Elisabeth Clay, Alaska's Grappling Phenom](https://www.bjjheroes.com/interview/elisabeth-clay-alaskas-grappling-phenom)
- [FloGrappling - Elisabeth Clay](https://www.flograppling.com/people/6614340-elisabeth-clay)
- [FloGrappling - WNO Champion Elisabeth Clay Planning Her Return At No-Gi Pans](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/12892755-wno-champion-elisabeth-clay-planning-her-return-at-no-gi-pans)
- [FloGrappling - WNO 27 recap](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/14098266-wno-27-recap-nicky-rod-mounts-kaynan-to-win-main-event)
- [IBJJF - Athlete Results: Elisabeth Clay](https://ibjjf.com/athletes/elisabeth-clay)
- [IBJJF - Elisabeth Clay is coming to The Crown](https://ibjjf.com/news/elisabeth-clay-is-coming-to-the-crown)
- [Wikipedia - Elisabeth Clay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Clay)
- [Gnarly Nutrition - Elisabeth Clay](https://gognarly.com/blogs/athletes/elisabeth-clay-jiu-jitsu)
- [Instagram - Elisabeth Clay (Moreira)](https://www.instagram.com/elisabethclaybjj/)

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