We first learned of Amanda Leve from viral Youtube videos of her choking out teenage boys in tournaments. Amanda, an 18-year old Purple Belt under Ricardo Almeida, has won numerous NAGA, Grapplers Quest, and IBJJF titles. While still in high school, she last 20 plus minutes in a sub only match with UFC number one contender Cat Zingano. This past Spring, she won the Grapplers Quest super tournament alongside teammates Eddie Cummings, Garry Tonon, and Gordon Ryan. Jiu Jitsu Times has called her the next big thing in women’s BJJ and MMA. She recently won double gold at NoGi Pans and is now preparing for NoGi Worlds in Long Beach.
Amanda was nice enough to take time out of her busy training schedule to talk to us about the following topics.
- How she got started in BJJ
- Her family’s influence and support in her martial arts pursuit
- Competing in BJJ – 15 matches in one day
- Training with the Ricardo Almeida team
- Balancing other sports and interests with BJJ
- Skipping college to train full-time
- Current success in BJJ – Winning double gold at NoGi Pans
- Her future plans in BJJ and MMA.
