Meet the Funegra Twins

Every year at the IBJJF World Championships, there are always a few highly-anticipated black belt promotions that happen on the podium or just after an incredible finals win. This May, two happened within minutes of each other.

You've probably already guessed it, but we're talking about Mia and Ashlee Funegra, who were awarded their black belts from their long-time coach, AOJ co-founder Guilherme Mendes. The twins had been training for just about a decade, having started when they were just small girls. Their leveling up happened just after Ashlee secured her finals match win in the brown belt light-featherweight division... and right before Mia made her black belt debut, that very same day.

But... how was Mia able to register and fight in the black belt division of the World Championships? This kind of thing doesn't happen often, but it's not unheard of. According to IBJJF rules, a prior world champion can sign up for the upper belt division, before he or she has officially been awarded that belt. In this case, Mia and Ashlee had become world champions in the purple belt division last year, where they received their brown belts. So, technically, she could sign up for the black belt division while still a brown belt.

It was a strategic - and highly successful - move on the part of the Mendes Brothers. The sisters were able to both compete in the light-featherweight division and win, without having to close out in the brown belt division - and their wins contributed a huge number of points toward AOJ's team rankings, putting them second for the event. 

But who are the Funegra Twins? 

Read the full blog at the Kingz USA site here.