Kearney Combat Sports & Fitness

Kearney

Alliance

bellevue

auburn

Elkhorn

Fremont

Grand Island

Lincoln

North Platte

Papillion

Omaha

Sidney

Wahoo

Nebraska's first Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt earned his stripes under Master Rodrigo Vaghi — a 6th-degree black belt under Rickson Gracie who trained at the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro. That lineage found its way to Omaha through Ed Shobe, who came up through the Vaghi system and became the foundation on which the state's early scene was built. For years the number of black belts in Nebraska could be counted on one hand, and most grapplers had to drive hours to compete or find quality instruction. That scarcity shaped a certain mentality on the mats — people here tend to take training seriously because they had to earn access to it.

Omaha is where the infrastructure is deepest. Legacy BJJ carries the Vaghi lineage forward, and Agoge Martial Arts in Papillion — a Gracie Humaitá affiliate under Professor Rob Luhrs, a black belt in Gracie jiu-jitsu — draws from the southwest suburbs of the metro. Premier Combat Center, founded in 2008, trains under a Gracie Barra affiliation and has produced fighters who've competed in the UFC and Bellator; UFC veteran Darrick Minner came out of that gym. Omaha's Academy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under black belt Dennis Bacon rounds out a metro area where, between the city and its suburbs of Papillion and La Vista, you have a genuine cluster of credentialed schools teaching under distinct lineages. The Steiner Academy of Martial Arts in northwest Omaha, open since 1997, runs a Dynasty BJJ program alongside its broader curriculum. The affiliation diversity across Omaha's gyms — Vaghi, Gracie Humaitá, Gracie Barra, Dynasty — means your choice of school here genuinely shapes what kind of jiu-jitsu you learn.

Lincoln is the other anchor. The Lincoln Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Center was founded in 2013 by Greg Lawson, Conan Schafer, and Jerad Downs. Lawson began training in 2001 under the Ribeiro Brothers and earned his black belt under Saulo Ribeiro in 2011 — a lineage rooted in one of the sport's most technically demanding traditions. LBJJC operates as an affiliate of the Tinguinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Yorba Linda, California, and moved to its expanded location on Prescott Avenue in 2019. Lincoln's scene is smaller than Omaha's by count but carries a reputation for technical drilling and low ego — the kind of gym where blue belts give you a real challenge and then help you identify what went wrong.

Outside these two cities, the scene thins quickly. Nebraska's population concentrates along the I-80 corridor, and so does its jiu-jitsu. A few schools operate in smaller cities like Grand Island and Kearney, but anyone outside the metro areas will likely make a regular commute part of their training. The state has active regional promotions — Dynasty Combat Sports and Omaha Fight Club both run amateur and pro events — but serious competitors typically travel to Kansas City, Denver, or the coasts for IBJJF and ADCC qualifier events.

The 27 gyms listed on MatMade span the full range — from competition-focused programs in Omaha to smaller schools in outlying communities — and filtering by city or affiliation is the fastest way to find where you belong.

BJJ & Martial Arts in Kearney, Nebraska