When it comes to prodigies, the UFC is definitely not a stranger. Back in the day, Jon Jones shocked the world by making his UFC debut at 21 years old and then becoming champion only a few years later. Then, Raul Rosas Jr. made his mark, becoming the youngest fighter ever to debut in the UFC at just 18 years of age. Although their achievements have been massive, neither can claim rolling around the mat with a UFC legend at 15, like Helena Crevar.
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If you are familiar with the name Helena Crevar, then you might be witnessing history in the making. The American submission artist from Las Vegas has caused havoc in the grappling world, winning the ADCC 2024 championship at only 17 years old. But even while achieving that feat, Crevar’s first coach claims that she went toe to toe with UFC vet Donald Cerrone in a 25-minute grappling match. He confirmed that Crevar was just 15 years old at the time of the grappling session.
Helena Crevar’s coach reveals she operated with Donald Cerrone in grappling
“Two years in, Helena was the one beating up visitors, including black belts,” Crevar’s coach, Hector Vasquez, told Texas Monthly, as per an article by BJJ Doc. “She even held her own in a 25-minute match with the notoriously dogged UFC star Donald Cerrone,” he added.
Well, although Vasquez revealed that the martial arts prodigy stood tall against an experienced UFC fighter, he didn’t actually reveal who won the clash out of respect. It’s indeed true that ‘Cowboy’s prime days were past when he shared the mat with Helena Crevar, but it’s hard to imagine he could have been dominated, as Cerrone has 17 submission victories under his belt. But overall, the now 19-year-old grappler revealed the encounter was really positive.
“Recently, I had a chance to meet and roll with @cowboycerrone, one of the nicest people I have met.” Crevar posted on X. “It was one of the longest rolls I have had, (25 minutes straight) Thank you to my professor @hectorvasquezbjj for always giving me the opportunity to roll with different athletes at Cobrinha BJJ,” she wrote in a long Instagram post.
Now, as Helena Crevar rose to prominence because of her dominance in the grappling scene, there’s definitely some relentless hard work behind it. So, shedding more light on her journey, the Nevada prodigy talked about how the best grapplers in the sport have developed her fundamentals in jiu-jitsu.
BJJ prodigy talks about her initial days of grappling
When it comes to being disciplined, Helena’s parents developed that quality from a young age. The 19-year-old’s interest in sports started when she was a child, thanks to her Serbian roots, especially her mother, who was a bodybuilder back in the day. With a supportive father as well, Crevar finally began learning martial arts through striking and eventually transitioned into jiu-jitsu.
However, learning BJJ was tough, as proper guidance is needed when taking the first steps. Enter Gordon Ryan and John Danaher, the two prime figures of the Danaher Death Squad, who decided to take her under their wing. Seeing massive potential, both submission artists started providing her with wisdom, and soon Crevar transformed into a phenom. Moreover, she also talked about Craig Jones and Gordon Ryan’s beef in our exclusive interview.
“The first couple of years I didn’t really know anything about professional jujitsu,” Helena Crever revealed in the BJJ Doc article. “I didn’t really follow the competitions or anything, but like deeper into my journey, I kind of really enjoyed watching the whole New Wave team, watching John and his instructionals, watching Gordon and Gary (Tonon) competing,” she added.
Under Danaher’s training, Helena competed at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 and also performed in the Craig Jones Invitational as well. That said, as the Nevada grappling artist already has a solid base in grappling, can we see her competing in MMA too? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.