Meet the Funegra Twins

Probably two of the most anticipated black belt promotions happened within minutes of each other at the IBJJF World Championships in Anaheim, California this May.

Yes, we're talking about Mia and Ashlee Funegra, of AOJ fame, who received their black belts from their long-time coach Guilherme Mendes after about a decade on the mats. The promotion came just after Ashlee won the finals match in the brown belt light-featherweight division... and right before Mia would step on the mat for her black belt debut.

You're probably wondering how Mia, who was a brown belt up until that day, was able to register and fight in the black belt division of the World Championships. It's not common, but not unheard of. As a prior world champion (in the purple belt division last year), she could sign up for the black belt division while still a brown belt, as per IBJJF rules. And the move certainly paid off. Not only were the sisters able to both compete in the light-featherweight division without having to close out in the finals (a common occurrence for them), they both won their divisions and contributed some serious team points, putting AOJ at second in the team rankings for the event.

But who are the Funegra Twins? 

Read the full blog at the Kingz USA site here.