Haisam Rida is an African grappler based in Tokyo who made a name for himself by recently tapping out four black belts in one night. 

Originally from Ghana, Haisam has been based in Japan for 10 years since moving to Tokyo with his family at 15 years of age. Now 25, he’s been training jiu-jitsu for seven years and went full-time two years ago. 

Haisam teaches and trains at Carpe Diem gym in Tokyo. He got his brown belt in 2017 and made it to the podium at the 2018 UAEJJF World Pro and 2018 IBJJF European Championships, taking bronze at both events. 

Most recently, he submitted no less than four black belts in one night at the Japanese no-gi grappling Quintet, a team-based competition devised by legendary MMA fighter Kazushi Sakuraba. 

“It happened really fast, I wasn’t expecting to fight,” says Haisam. “They were looking for one more person for the five-member team. Somebody told them about me so they came to watch me train and Sakuraba, we all know him he’s a legend, said ‘this kid is really good, we might give him a shot’."

The big opportunity wasn’t wasted by Haisam, who used it to make a huge statement. He submitted Richie Martinez, Viking Wong, Stuart Cooper and Alex Schild in a career-best performance that turned heads. 

“I always believed in my skills, I know I’ve got what it takes to compete with the best’” says Haisam. “It means a lot to me, and now that people know my name it’s a little more pressure, I’ve got to keep working and stay focused. There’s more to come for sure.”  

Next up for him is the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo, an event and format he is familiar with. He’ll compete in the -94kg brown belt division. 

“I like competing in the UAEJJF rules because its a shorter time, so you can go really hard. And we all know about the cash prize, we’ve got our eyes on it. It’s an exciting tournament and I’m happy to be able to compete in it.”  

WATCH: Rida Haisam vs Sebastian Szyszka

Despite his medal-winning performances at the World Pro in Abu Dhabi and the European Championship in Portugal, there are a number of events missing from his resume. Visa issues prevent Haisam from visiting the United States to compete in major tournaments there, a source of frustration for the ambitious young athlete. 

“I’ve been living in Tokyo for 10 years now but I’m having visa issues to get to the States, which I’m still working on. It’s my big goal to make it to fight in the States:  Pans, Worlds. I get a lot of messages from people saying ‘Hey bro, you’re doing great, why do we never see you at Worlds?’ If somebody is out there and able to help me out, I would really appreciate it.” 

Though he has yet to secure a travel visa for the U.S. Haisam intends to pursue his goals and hopes to one day step onto the mats to claim titles he feels he has a chance of winning. 

“With my athletic ability I think I’ve got what it takes to compete with the best in the world, and my goal right now is to get my black belt and then make a statement at Worlds. My goal is to be a World champion at black belt.” 

Watch the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo

July 29 | Click here for more