Vegan fighters take Gold in two internationals

Vegan martial artists have been getting a grip on the titles as two have taken major tournament wins in grappling events.

Germany’s Max Urschl competed in the NAGA Brussels competition in the Blackbelt 74.9 kg Masters events. His fights saw him take victories with some signature high-energy takedowns to take his third tournament win of 2026. He’s now the current champion in Blackbelt categories of NAGA Germany, NAGA Brussels and NAGA Europe.

Max has been vegan since 2018 after thirteen years vegan, stating “I am against animal exploitation, so I am vegan.”

His first national title came just after turning vegan, and he supports the Lebenshof in Hunsrück, animal sanctuary.

Max has designed his own training top with ‘Vegan Grappler’ on the front. It also includes both the Great Vegan Athletes logo and web address, and Max wore it under his GI during fights NAGA Brussels.

European Title

Another vegan blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is Italian Luca Anacoreta, who has been competing at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Masters European Championships.

Luca already had an impressive haul of medals including 6 IBJJF titles and two world titles. He was competing in the Masters 2 (36-40) and Open age categories. He won all his fights in his age category to win Gold, and took Silver in the Open category.

“I’m happy with the results, with how I fought and how I prepared for this championship, never taking a step back in every training session” he says.

Luca has been vegan since 2015, saying “above all, I’ve always been an animal lover, so at a certain point I wanted to change because it seemed like the most coherent thing to do, and I’ve never regretted it!”

He says he’s never had scepticism from those around him, and many have asked for advice in eliminating meat and fish.

Congratulations to both fighters, who we’ve seen committed to veganism and success in large portions!