Jessa Khan

Jessamine Jada Khan (born 8 October 2001),^[1] often shortened as Jessa Khan (Khmer: ខាន់ ចេសា, romanized: Khăn Chésa [kʰan ceːsaː]), is an American-born Cambodian jiu-jitsu athlete.^[2] She is the 2023 IBJJF World Champion.

Jessa Khan

Personal information
Nationality	Cambodian
Born	(2001-10-08) 8 October 2001 (age 22) Texas, U.S.
Height	152 cm (5 ft 0 in)
Weight	49 kg (108 lb)
Sport
Country	Cambodia
Sport	Jujitsu
Event(s)	ne-waza
Team	Art of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Asian Games 1 0 0 Southeast Asian Games 2 1 0 European Championship 0 0 1 Total 3 1 1 Representing  Cambodia Jujutsu Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang ne-waza 49kg Southeast Asian Games 2019 Philippines ne-waza 49kg 2023 Cambodia ne-waza 52kg No-gi Jiu-Jitsu Southeast Asian Games 2023 Cambodia 52kg Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu European Championship 2023 Paris, France −48.5 kg

Career

Khan represented Cambodia at the 2018 Asian Games and claimed a gold medal in the women's 49kg ne-waza event.^[3][4] This was also the first gold medal to be received by Cambodia which happened to be unexpected in the sport of ju-jitsu during the 2018 Asian Games.^[5] Khan is a second Gold Medal Cambodia's Asian Games history after Taekwondo Gold 2014.^[6] She is a daughter of a Mexican American mother with Cambodian American father.^[7][8] She began jiu-jitsu training at age 12.^[9]

On October 6, 2020, Khan was awarded her black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by her coaches, the Mendes brothers, just two days before her nineteenth birthday.^[10]

Personal life

Khan was born in Texas and resides in Southern California.^[11]

Black belt career

On February 26, 2021, Khan made her debut appearance on Who's Number One, defeating Danielle Kelly by unanimous decision.^[12] She competed at Evolve Ur Game on April 3, 2021 in a superfight against Mayssa Bastos, losing on points.^[13] She returned to Who's Number One on May 28, 2021, defeating Patricia Fontes with an armbar.^[14] This performance earned Khan the invitation to compete for the inaugural WNO women's strawweight title at the WNO Championships.^[15] Khan submitted Jessica Crane with a heelhook in the opening round, but was submitted by Grace Gundrum in the semifinal with a twister and was submitted by Amanda 'Tubby' Alequin in the consolation match with a toehold.^[16]

In May, 2022 Khan became one of the first grapplers to sign a contract with ONE Championship.^[17] The promotion booked a rematch with Alequin for her debut at ONE 159 on July 22, 2022,^[18] but the match fell through when Alequin withdrew due to an undisclosed medical issue.

Khan competed in the 2023 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu European Championship, winning a bronze medal in the women's roosterweight division.^[19] At the IBJJF Santa Cruz International Open on April 22nd, 2023, Khan won gold in the light-featherweight division.^[20] Khan returned to the Southeast Asian Games in 2023 to represent Cambodia once again, winning silver in the gi ne-waza event and gold in the no gi ne-waza event.^[21] She donated her winnings from the event to the Cambodian Red Cross.^[22]

Khan competed in the IBJJF World Championship 2023 on June 3 and 4, 2023 and won a gold medal in the light-featherweight division.^[23]

Khan was booked to compete against Danielle Kelly in a rematch for the inaugural ONE Championship Atomweight submission grappling title at ONE Fight Night 14 on September 29, 2023.^[24] Khan lost the match by decision.^[25]

References

1. "Sabay News". news.sabay.com.kh. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
2. . Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
3. "Breaking: Jessa Khan Wins Asian Games Gold Medal for Cambodia ! – Cambodia Expats Online: Forum | News | Information | Blog". cambodiaexpatsonline.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
4. "Cambodia claims a Ju-Jitsu gold – Khmer Times". Khmer Times. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
5. Chap, Chetra. "Cambodia wins first gold medal at 2018 Asian Games". VOA. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
6. "News – Olympic Council of Asia". www.ocasia.org. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
7. "Jessa Khan: The Jiu-Jitsu Prodigy – Khmer Times". Khmer Times. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
8. "Jessa Khan bags double gold at jiu-jitsu worlds".
9. "Jessa Khan Athlete". www.facebook.com.
10. "Jessa Khan Becomes First Black Belt from AOJ Kid's Program". 7 October 2020.
11. . The Cambodia Daily. Associated Press. 27 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018.
12. "Who's Number One: Craig Jones v Ronaldo Jr Full Results and Review". 27 February 2021.
13. "Evolve Ur Game Full Results and Review". 4 April 2021.
14. "Who's Number One: Craig Jones v Luiz Panza Full Results and Review". 29 May 2021.
15. "WNO Championships Lineup Announced for 115lbs Division". 30 July 2021.
16. "WNO Championships Full Results and Review". 27 September 2021.
17. "ONE Championship Signs Renato Canuto, Jessa Khan, and Tainan Dalpra". 12 May 2022.
18. "Jessa Khan to Face Amanda 'Tubby' Alequin for ONE Championship Debut". 16 June 2022.
19. "IBJJF European Championship 2023 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
20. "IBJJF Santa Cruz Open 2023 Produces Exciting Results". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
21. Phillips, Sabrina. "Jessa Khan Wins Gold At Southeast Asian Games 2023". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
22. Phillips, Sabrina. "Jessa Khan Donates SEA Games Winnings To Cambodian Red Cross". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
23. "IBJJF World Championship 2023 Full Results And Review". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
24. Phillips, Sabrina. "Danielle Kelly Faces Jessa Khan For First Women's Title At ONE Fight Night 14". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
25. "Danielle Kelly Wins First Female Submission Grappling Title At ONE Fight Night 14". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 30 September 2023.