Steffen Banta. Photography by Lili Banta.
Steffen Banta became the most-decorated brown belt in the United States with recent wins at an international jiu-jitsu competition.
Banta, a resident of Casa Linda in East Dallas, won double gold at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s No-Gi World Championship in Long Beach, California, in December.
A gi is a uniform worn in jiu-jitsu competitions. In no-gi competitions, athletes wear clothes that can’t be grabbed by an opponent during a match.
Banta won double gold in the brown belt gi and open class gi events at the American National championship in late June. He also won double gold in the brown belt no-gi open class events. His father, Michael Banta, says he was the only American to ever win four gold medals at the American Nationals championship.
Earlier in June, Banta won the IBJJF super-heavy brown belt world champion title.
His victories in 2022 made Banta, 23, the only brown belt to win the world championship in gi and no-gi in the same year, Michael Banta says.
Coached by João Gabriel Rocha, Banta also holds the brown belt heavyweight Pan American title. As of late December, Banta had gone undefeated for his past 50 matches, the Jiu-Jitsu Times reported.
Banta, who now has his black belt, is a senior behavioral economics major at Southern Methodist University. After graduation, he wants to work toward a master’s degree.
He also plans to continue competing in national and international jiu-jitsu competitions at the highest level.
Steffen Banta and his family. Photo courtesy of Lili Banta.
