Kjetil Lydvo

From Voss, Norway, Kjetil Lydvo is one of Europe’s rising stars in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ultra-heavy weight division. 

From an early age, Kjetil has been a dedicated athlete. During his childhood, he was involved in uphill mountain running, a grueling outdoor sport that’s popular in Norway. At the age of 10, he discovered boxing, where for many years he compete at the amateur level in his local area. Then in 2012, when he was 17 years old, a martial arts academy opened in his hometown. Despite his preconceived notions of the more formal martial arts – particularly their traditional attire – he decided to give it a try. From then on, BJJ was all he could think about. 

Soon after he received his blue belt, Kjetil moved to Oslo, to train at the Frontline Academy headquarters, where he had far more training partners and could more easily dedicate himself to the sport. A natural athlete, Kjetil immediately dominated in his division, becoming a multiple-time IBJJF Europeans champion, collecting gold medals from blue belt to brown. Riding the wave of his Europeans win at brown belt, he traveled to the U.S. and won his first IBJJF World Championship. 

Shortly after Kjetil was promoted to black belt in 2023, he made his black belt debut at the IBJJF Europeans, where he lost a tough battle in the finals. Nevertheless, he counts this as one of the highlights of his career, confirming his status as serious black belt contender and motivating him to come back stronger. 

Some of Kjetil’s top accomplishments include: 

  • CBJJ Brasilieros Bronze Medalist (2025)
  • IBJJF Pans Bronze Medalist (2024)
  • 2x IBJJF Europeans Medalist (2023, 2024 black)
  • IBJJF World Champion (2022, brown)
  • 4x IBJJF Europeans Champion (2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 colored belts)

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Did You Know?

Favorite Match: Is from purple belt when I won the ultra-heavy division in the Europeans, just because it was a razor-narrow fight where I came up on top in the last 10 seconds to win it by points.

Person of Inspiration: Every person I train with at my gym and team. The people I see every day.

Hometown: Voss

Started Jiu-Jitsu in: When I was 17, in 2012.

Current Team: Checkmat

Training Routine: Up and down depending on the season, but I do like to have around 6–9 BJJ sessions a week and 2–3 weightlifting sessions.

Favorite Post-Competition Meal: Açaí 😂 It’s light and easy to get down. Burgers or pizza right after usually don’t go down well.

Pre-Fight Ritual: Not any specific ritual, but I do tend to do some chanting or mantras to get my head in the game.

Greatest Victory So Far:  Must have been winning the Worlds as a brown belt, silver in Europeans or bronze in Pans. I can’t decide 😅

Favorite Kingz Gi: Balistico 4.0! Best gi I have had!

One piece of advice for beginners: Try to go into every training with a goal and out of it with one thing learned.

A master of the Faria deep half sweep and the lapel choke from side control, Kjetil favors the more fundamental, highly-effective techniques. As he notes, “Consistency over fanciness, every day of the week.” That, combined with the endless drive to improve defines his champion mindset.