jiu-jitsu prodigy who is only 21 years old Jessa Khan, a citizen of Cambodia who was born in the United States, competed in and won the gold medal at the 2023 IBJJF World Championships. She has a professional wrestling record of 18 wins and 11 defeats in the sport of grappling.
Khan has amassed a multitude of remarkable accomplishments over the course of her excellent career. Some of these accomplishments include placing in third place at the 2021 IBJJF World Championship, the 2021 IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI, and the 2023 IBJJF European Open. Khan also won the 2022 IBJJF Pan American championships.
Jessa and her family were forced to relocate frequently due to the fact that Jessa’s father was a naval officer. Despite the fact that Jessa was born in Texas. Karate, not jiu-jitsu, served as her entry point into the world of martial arts, which is an interesting fact in and of itself.
However, because she now lived in Hawaii with her family, she was unable to train in the Japanese martial art any longer. Soon after that, she enrolled at O2 Martial Arts to study jiu-jitsu with the Onzuka Brothers and Shane Agena as her instructors.
Khan finally made her long-awaited debut in the One Championship grappling division on September 29, when she competed against Danielle Kelly, an opponent she had previously faced, for the atomweight title at ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham.
Unfortunately, the 21-year-old struggled under the glare of the spotlight, and she ended up losing to Kelly by a decision of unanimous accord.
Watch Jessa Khan take on Danielle Kelly in the video that follows:
At ONE Fight Night 14, promotional sensation Stamp Fairtex defeated Seo Hee Ham of South Korea via technical knockout in the third round to win the One Women’s atomweight world championship. Stamp Fairtex’s victory gave her the title.
Why was Jessa Khan intimidated by Karate?
When Jessa Khan was younger, she was too frightened to continue her training in karate, despite the fact that she is now considered to be one of the top women’s jiu-jitsu athletes in the world.
During an interview with ONEFC.com, the 2023 IBJJF world champion stated that the high number of black belts at her karate dojo was a major factor in her decision to transition to jiu-jitsu:
“Initially, I was going to begin training karate once more, but then I got kind of intimidated because, you know, in karate, kids tend to get their black belts a lot quicker… So, I decided against it.” When that happened, I believe I had just earned my yellow belt or something like. Because of this, the fact that the entire school was made up entirely of black belts made me feel quite intimidated. Because of this, my father eventually found a jiu-jitsu school.
At the Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa, California, where she currently works as an instructor for children, Jessa Khan has made it her aim to create an atmosphere of encouragement and support comparable to the one that was essential in her own growth as a jiu-jitsu practitioner.
