Just 18 months at black belt Edwin Najmi has solidified his spot as one of the most exciting competitors in the game today. He further cemented his spot this past weekend by winning in impressive fashion at the FIVE Grappling Welterweight Invitational.



After submitting Bill Cooper in short time and outlasting the tough veteran Marcelo Mafra by decision the Flying Triangle sensation ended his finals match in just 40 seconds with an Estima Lock over John Combs. He became the first ever FIVE Welterweight Champion. Although Edwin's technique looks to be as sharp as ever, he attributes his recent string of consistent success to his mental edge.





I don't care. I go for the kill. Exactly how I train, I don't care if a guy sweeps me it doesn't bother me mentally. When I was purple belt I was so scared to fight guys, scared to lose. But then one day my wrestling coach told me 'to be the guy you have to beat those guys' and thought you know what he's right. I'm mentally stronger than a lot of these guys you know. I just push the pace and try to finish. A lot of people say that but then they end up double guard pull or 50/50 and say I try to finish fights. No you don't.

One day it just all clicked and I was like I'm the best. I gotta beat these guys. There is no way to be the best if you don't have that confidence. If you're gonna come all nervous, I used to be like that. But I don't know one day it all flipped. You gotta have that character. You gotta have that swagger.

Certainly Edwin walked away with the most extraordinary performance of the night, adding to his already impressive year. After starting the year a bit slow Najmi picked up a gold medal at the IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships and fought Lucas Lepri in the finals of the IBJJF World Championships, bringing home the silver in his first ever Worlds at black belt. Now he has a super sized Welterweight Championship belt to add to this year's accomplishments.