“I’ve been training every single day,” began Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community superstar athlete Rianna Tate. “I train three to four times a day. I wake up at 5 a.m. and train throughout the day, as well as [spending time] being a kids’ coach.” 

This past August 16, Tate traveled to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to compete in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, unofficially known as “the Olympics of grappling” by contestants. 

According to their website, the goals of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club are to promote a healthy lifestyle by educating members in nutrition and training people in all aspects of self-defense, which in turn builds self-confidence.

The ADCC is an invitation-only competition where the world’s best athletes compete for the top prize in their respective age divisions. “I was very blessed and humbled to be part of the first kids’ worlds event,” said Tate. “This was the first time they put on a kids’ world event!”

To prepare for Las Vegas, Tate underwent training in Scottsdale with local coaches known for their expertise. 

“The type of training I did to prepare [for Las Vegas] was a lot of strength and conditioning with George Castro. I performed weightlifting, cardio and circuit training. Mainly, [I do] a lot of cardio for these matches because they are six minutes long and can go into overtime with an extra three minutes, [which brings the total of a timed match to] nine minutes,” she added. For her diet and maintaining her nutrition, Tate received training from George’s wife, Kim Castro.

“For grappling training, I trained with Adrian Nez, who is Navajo. He is one of the high-level grapplers in the world. I train [with him] out of Van Buren Jiu Jitsu under Jonathan Van Buren in Chandler,” said Tate. She also trains with 5-0 professional MMA fighter Ray Waters at the Chandler MMA center. 

As she develops her skills and continues to collect accolades, Tate brings with her a tight-knit circle of family, loved ones, supporters and sponsors. “I am sponsored by a very well-known grappling company, CTRL Industries. They are Native-owned (Navajo). I am sponsored by many Native-owned businesses that make shirts, jewelry and more,” she said.

Her sponsors include CTRL Industries (grappling gear), A Native Touch LE&D (jewelry), NVJO Athletics (clothing), Can’t Fail Designs (clothing and Native-owned), and other businesses. 

Listing her father Joe as her main inspiration, Tate acknowledges the positive impact he’s had on her life. “He helps [me] to always stay motivated and get things done. He helps keep my mindset focused and [teaches me] to always fight until the end—to never give up.”

Though the judges in Las Vegas handed her a controversial loss in her August match, Tate remains standing tall with her head held high. 

“I felt like I had won the match; my opponent even thought she had lost. Although I didn’t get the results I wanted, I was still very happy and honored to be a part of such a historic event. I will be using this learning experience as my motivation to come back even stronger, train harder, train smarter, and get these next couple titles I’ve been working hard on. It’s life. As a growing athlete, I don’t call these losses a loss. I call them a learning experience. We all have things that don’t go our way, but I believe our times will come.” 

True to her word, Tate returned to Las Vegas over the Labor Day Weekend in September for the 2024 Jiu-Jitsu Con International, where she took home the gold medal in the juvenile/female/blue division. 

To SRPMIC youth and families, Tate said, “Keep focusing on those dreams. “I do believe that each and every one of us can reach our goals! I would like to be able to help the kids and be a role model for them [to show them] that they can do it too! It will take a lot of visualizing, patience, time and sacrifices. No matter what it takes, whatever the circumstance is, keep your eyes on the prize. You can do it! Thank you to the Community for always supporting me and having my back in my journey!”