From Nantes, France, Youness Bennouali is putting French jiu-jitsu on the map. A highly technical athlete, he is as dangerous on his feet as he is on the ground. 

Youness began his journey in the martial arts at the age of eight, when he began judo. Franch is world-renowned for their judo programs, and he proved to be a phenom. At 15 years old, he was already competing at the national level as a black belt, and had qualified for the French championships. By then, he had also discovered jiu-jitsu, by way of competing on the French National Newaza team. The ground game fascinated him, and he progressively moved more and more toward jiu-jitsu. “It was after Covid in 2021 when I got promoted to purple belt that I really started to consider competing at the international level.”

His prowess in judo quickly set him apart from the rest, allowing him to hit the podium at a number of major events, including in the IBJJF and AJP circuits. It was in 2023, that he accomplished what he considers the highlight of his career: winning the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro as a purple belt. “It was a great moment for me because it was my first time on the podium at such a high-level tournament. After a lot of tries, I had finally succeeded.” For him, that drive to succeed essentially defines his champion mindset: “It’s never quitting. It can be hard and you cannot win every time, but as long as you keep believing you can achieve everything.”

While judo continues to be his forte, Youness is constantly seeking to evolve on the mat. “I love to throw people because it reminds me my Judo background. But I also really love back takes and all of the bolos, because it’s really the thing that made me want to practice jiu-jitsu. I find the flow of these kinds of movement beautiful!” Indeed, his love for flow has driven him to explore many other kinds of sports. In addition to coaching jiu-jitsu and strength and conditioning, he also does gymnastics, breakdancing and cliff jumping.