18 September 2026
The Japanese judo legend and MMA superstar produced a sensational performance at the 2026 World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Las Vegas, winning gold in the Master 5 Brown Belt division and taking the World title.
As if becoming a BJJ World Master Champion wasn't enough, there was another special moment to come. Following his victory, Michi was promoted to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt on the podium.
For us in Aberdeen, this was a result that felt particularly special.
We've followed Michi's journey for a long time, but over the years he has become much more to us than a famous judoka or MMA fighter. He has become a genuine friend of Ultimate Judo, and someone who has been incredibly generous with his time, knowledge and passion for judo.
Our relationship with Michihiro Omigawa actually started during one of the strangest periods any of us have experienced.
During Covid, dojos around the world were closed and international travel had stopped. Scotland and Japan are thousands of miles apart, but technology — and a shared love of judo — gave us the opportunity to connect.
We started collaborating and training together online, exchanging ideas from opposite ends of the world.
At the time, none of us really knew where it would lead. It was simply a great opportunity to learn from each other and keep judo going during a difficult period.
Thankfully, the relationship didn't disappear when the world reopened.
Quite the opposite.
When our Ultimate Judo Academy travelled to Japan, one of the highlights was being able to visit Michi at his own dojo, Neo dojo.
Suddenly someone we had been training and communicating with through a screen was standing on the same tatami as us in Japan.
For our students, experiences like this are exactly why we created the Ultimate Judo Academy. Of course, they travelled to Japan to practise judo, but the bigger experience is about understanding where our sport comes from, experiencing Japanese culture and building relationships with people they would never otherwise have had the opportunity to meet.
Michi welcomed us into his dojo and shared his judo and his time with our group. It was an experience our students and coaches won't forget.
We were delighted when we later had the opportunity to return the hospitality and bring Michi to Scotland.
Welcoming Michihiro Omigawa to Aberdeen was a very proud moment for our club.
Michi delivered a fantastic judo masterclass, sharing the knowledge and experience developed through a lifetime in elite judo, professional MMA and grappling.
More importantly, our members got to meet the person behind the achievements.
Anyone who has spent time with Michi will understand what we mean. His enthusiasm for judo is infectious. He genuinely loves being on the mat, teaching, learning and sharing the sport with other people.
The Aberdeen session was also supported and attended by the Lord and Lady Provost of Aberdeen, which made the occasion even more special and helped us celebrate the friendship that had developed between our small corner of Scotland and Japan.
When we first started training together online during lockdown, we certainly didn't imagine that a few years later Michi would be standing on our tatami in Aberdeen with our members, coaches and the Lord and Lady Provost looking on.
That's one of the great things about judo.
It has an incredible ability to connect people.
For anyone outside the judo and MMA world who isn't familiar with Michi's background, his career makes his latest achievement even more impressive.
Michihiro Omigawa is a Japanese judoka and professional mixed martial artist who successfully took his high-level judo into MMA, competing on some of the sport's biggest stages.
He became internationally recognised through his professional MMA career, including appearances in organisations such as the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM and Sengoku, developing a reputation for his distinctive judo-based fighting style.
That alone would be a martial arts career most people would be very happy with.
But one of the things we admire most about Michi is that he has never stopped learning.
Despite decades of experience in judo and MMA, he was willing to become a student again through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
And not just train in it — compete in it.
That's why we think his achievement in Las Vegas is about more than winning another medal.
When you've already competed at an elite level in judo and fought professionally on some of MMA's biggest stages, it would be very easy to stay within the areas where you're already the expert.
Michi hasn't done that.
He has continued to learn, develop and test himself in another martial art.
Winning the 2026 World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship and then receiving his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black beltis the result of that willingness to keep learning.
It's also a great message for our own members, particularly the younger ones.
Getting good at something doesn't mean you've finished learning.
Neither does earning a black belt.
There is always another detail to understand, another skill to develop and another person you can learn from.
When someone with Michi's experience is still willing to put himself in that position, it's a pretty powerful example.
We've been fortunate at Ultimate Judo to meet and train with some incredible people through the sport, and those relationships are a big part of what we want our club and Academy to be about.
Judo is obviously a competitive sport, and medals, grades and results matter.
But they aren't the whole story.
A friendship that started with two groups of people training online from Aberdeen and Japan during Covid has led to our students travelling to Michi's dojo in Japan, Michi travelling to Scotland to teach in ours, and a friendship that has continued to grow along the way.
That's worth far more than simply being able to say that a famous fighter came to our club.
Michi has always been incredibly generous in sharing his knowledge and his passion for judo with us, and that is something we genuinely appreciate.
So seeing him standing on top of the podium in Las Vegas as a BJJ World Master Champion, followed by receiving his black belt, was fantastic.
From all of us at Ultimate Judo in Aberdeen, Scotland, congratulations to Michihiro Omigawa Sensei on becoming a 2026 BJJ World Master Champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
An amazing achievement from an even more amazing man.
Your passion for judo, your willingness to keep learning and, most importantly for us, your willingness to share that knowledge and friendship with others is hugely appreciated.
From Japan to Aberdeen, and hopefully many more times in both directions yet.
Congratulations, Michi.
おめでとうございます、小見川先生！
