Keanna Klay
Keanna Carolyn Klay · United States
The daughter of Gracie Barra coaches, the American won her weight class and the open class at the 2026 Asian Championship in her first year as a black belt, and moves up from featherweight to lightweight for The Crown.
- wins
- 14
- losses
- 3
- golds at the 2026 Asian Championship, at lightweight and in the open class
- 2
Black belt record.
Who is Keanna Klay
Keanna Carolyn Klay is American and grew up inside the gym. The daughter of coaches Marcia Carvalho and Fabio Costa, of Gracie Barra Georgia in Acworth, she started Jiu-Jitsu at age 3 and has helped teach classes since she was 12. Today she is an instructor at the same academy.
She won Worlds and Pans as a juvenile in 2021 and repeated both titles in the adult division in 2022, still a blue belt. At purple belt she was Worlds runner-up in 2024 and, at brown belt, took silver at Europeans and bronze at the Brazilian Nationals and Worlds in 2025.
She got her black belt in 2025 and, in her first months, won four IBJJF Opens in the United States. In 2026 she won the Madrid Open and took bronze at Pans and the Brazilian Nationals, at featherweight. At Pans she lost the semifinal to Lari Campos.
In July she moved up to lightweight at the Asian Championship and won both golds, in her weight class and the open class. In September she won the Jiu-Jitsu CON, also at lightweight, the weight class she competes in at The Crown on November 8.
Recent wins
- 2026Nicole SecundinoJiu-Jitsu CON, lightweight, final
- 2026Chayse DiekemaJiu-Jitsu CON, lightweight, semifinal
- 2026Olivia SchauerAsian Championship, open class, final · 3-2
- 2026Milena KaoriAsian Championship, open class, semifinal · 2-0
- 2026Yuka NakayamaAsian Championship, open class · 9-0
- 2026Yeongyeong SonAsian Championship, lightweight, final · submission
- 2026Yinyi WangAsian Championship, lightweight, semifinal · submission
- 2026Ana Vitória PantojaBrazilian Nationals, featherweight, quarterfinal
Losses
- 2026Gabi McCombWorlds, featherweight
- 2026Gabriela PereiraBrazilian Nationals, featherweight, semifinal
- 2026Lari CamposPans, featherweight, semifinal
Major titles
2026
- IBJJF Asian Championship Lightweight and open class Gold
- IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu CON Lightweight Gold
- IBJJF Pans Featherweight Bronze
- Brazilian Nationals (CBJJ) Featherweight Bronze
Before black belt
- IBJJF Worlds 2025, brown belt, featherweight Bronze
- IBJJF Worlds 2024, purple belt, featherweight Silver
- IBJJF Worlds and Pans 2022, blue belt, middleweight Gold
- IBJJF Worlds and Pans 2021, juvenile Gold